Percabeth Moments
by Aria Taylor
Summary: So these are all my endless Percabeth one-shots all stored together. They've been in near-death experiences together, but now Percy and Annabeth have the biggest obstacle of all standing in front of them: dating. MOA spoilers!
1. Three Little Words

**Hey guys! So this is just a bunch of Percabeth moments. I wrote this one night because I couldn't sleep, so it's probably really cheesy. Oh well. Hope you ike it!**

**I don't own PJO. If I did, why would I be writing this? I'd be working my behind off on the Mark of Athena!**

Three Little Words

Annabeth sat up, screaming, after a nightmare about her lost boyfriend, Percy Jackson, being slowly tortured to death by Romans. Everyone in the Athena cabin shot her glares, but they were so drowsy, it didn't seem like much of a threat. She muttered an apology, then laid back down, attempting to get a few precious hours of sleep. But try as she might, she couldn't get even a wink of sleep. So she got up quietly and threw on a hoodie, sweats, and boots. She grabbed a flashlight and a picture off of her wall and silently ran out of the cabin.

(*********)

Annabeth ran as fast as she could through the woods, praying that no monster would come and attack her. Finally, she made it to the rock.

Annabeth and Percy had found out that there wasn't any privacy at Camp Half-Blood. Even the beach wasn't as private as it used to be. So one day, the couple wanted some privacy and ran out to the woods. They ran into a gigantic rock that was big enough for them to climb to the top and lay down and just talk.

Annabeth climbed to the top of the rock and laid down staring at the stars. She took out the picture that she had brought with her out of her pocket and stared at it. It was of Percy and her, here on this rock. Percy was smiling goofily, staring at Annabeth, his eyes filled with happiness. And Annabeth was staring right back. She seemed content in the picure, smiling warmly at her boyfriend, who had an arm around her. Her eyes were filled with pure joy.

Annabeth set down the picture and smiled as she remembered the last conversation she had with her boyfriend on this rock.

_They had just arrived at Camp Half-Blood that morning after being released from school for Christmas break the day before. They walked around camp saying hello to everyone. Since it was such a beautiful day, warm and sunny even though it was December, Percy decided to take Annabeth to their special rock for a picnic lunch._

_After they ate, they sat around and talked, Annabeth's head in Percy's lap and Percy plaing with her hair. Suddenly, Annabeth asked, "Percy what happens next?"_

_Even though Annabeth didn't explain what she meant, she knew Percy would understand. He always does._

_"I guess...we just train and try to forget. Try to forget the whole war: all the deaths, battles, injuries. Try to forget and move on."_

_"But the new Great Prophecy," Annabeth continued, "I just feel like we're apart of it in some way. In some twisted, painful way."_

_Percy stared off into the distance. Annabeth admired how strong and powerful he looked when he was thinking. He looked like a real Hero of Olympus. _

_Fianlly, he said, "I don't know, Annabeth. And to be honest, I don't really want to talk about it." Percy looked down and stared into Annabeth's eyes. "I just want to live in the moment. And remember it forever."_

_Annabeth smiled as Percy leaned down to kiss her. When they pulled apart, they talked for a little while until Annabeth dozed off with Percy messing with her hair._

_(*********)_

_When Annabeth woke up, it was sunset. She glanced up to find Percy looking at her._

_"What?" Annabeth asked._

_Percy smiled. "Nothing. It's just that you're cute when you're asleep." He nodded at the sunset. "Wanna watch it?"_

_Annabeth smiled as she sat up. "Sure."_

_The couple sat at the edge of the rock, legs dangling over the edge, hands clasped tightly together, watching the sunset._

_Suddenly, Percy pulled something out of his pocket. It was a small, velvet box. He handed it to Annabeth. "Merry Christmas."_

_Annabeth stared at the box, stunned. "B-but I didn't get you anything."_

_Percy shrugged. "It's fine. I didn't want anything. Now open it."_

_Annabeth took the box and opened it. Inside was a necklace with two charms on it: an owl and a dolphin._

_Annabeth's eyes teared up and she looked at Percy. "Thank you," she said. "Thank you _so _much." _

_Percy pulled her into an embrace and held her close as he whispered three little words in her ear. Annabeth pulled away, her eyes shining. She leaned in and pressed her lips up against his._

Now, as Annabeth lay on the rock her and Percy had laid on so many nights ago, she whispered the three little words to Percy that he had whispered to her.

"I love you."

**So I hoped you guys liked it! I know it was cheesy, but hey, I write crazy things when I'm tired. Please review. I love it when I get reviews. I accept praise and criticism!**

**What's Poseidon's sacred animal? I didn't know, so I just made it a dolphin in the story. If you know what it is, please tell me in a review!**

**Here's a verse: Wealth is where the heart is and better to have riches in your heart rather than in your hands. Psalm 37:16**


	2. Prom

**Hey there! Thanks to everyone who reviewed! I love you all! I know the last one was depressing and sad, but I personally liked it. I hope you guys did too!**

**So, in this story, Camp Half-Blood holds a prom for all the demigods so that they won't have to worry about being attacked by a monster at their school's prom. That's some information that I couldn't figure out how to put in the story.**

**Disclaimer: I don't own PJO. Rick Riordan does.**

Prom

Percy's POV

Annabeth and I were sitting on the couch of my apartment watching the History channel, which for some reason Annabeth enjoyed. I had my arm around Annabeth and she was leaning into my side. Annabeth was listening attentively, but I was sweating like crazy. Today, I was planning to ask Annabeth to the camp's prom. I glanced at the rose hidden behind the bookshelf. Still there and looking perfect.

Annabeth got up suddenly. "I'm gonna go get some more popcorn." She walked out of the room.

I made sure she was gone and got up to get the rose. My hands were slick with sweat. I was shaking from nervousness. But I kept giving myself small pep talks. _You can do this Percy. Soon you'll be dancing the night away at prom. You can do this._

Annabeth walked out of the kitchen with a bag of freshly popped popcorn. I kneeled down and held out the rose and looked her in the eye. "Annabeth Chase. Would you do me the _honor_ of going to Camp Half-Blood's prom with me?"

Annabeth just stood there and stared at me. I was getting more nervous withh every second that passed. Then, Annabeth started laughing. "Of course I will, Seaweed Brain," she said between breaths. "I thought you'd never ask."

"Oh, uh, okay then," I managed to get out. That had been easier than I expected.

Annabeth took the rose and smiled at me. I breathed a sigh of relief.

Annabeth and I sat back down on the couch to watch the rest of the show. Annabeth laid her head on my shoulder and I stroked her hair. Today was the best day ever.

(*********)

Annabeth's POV

**4 Days Until Prom**

I was driving to the mall to find a dress for prom. My stepmom had offered to let me borrow her dress for prom, that way I wouldn't have to buy one. My stepmom's dress was beautiful, a white strapless gown with a jeweled circlet to match. But I politely declined. I wanted my dress to be, well, _mine._

I hopped in my car and started off towards the mall.

(*********)

I didn't see it coming.

I was driving through an intersection. A green SUV was driving through at the same time.

But their light was red.

The SUV rammed into my car on the passenger's side. I flew forward and probably would've flown through the windshield, but, thankfully, I had on my seatbelt. I felt a sharp pain in my leg before the airbag hit me and everything went black.

My last thought before I lost consciousness completely was, _why didn't I take my stepmom's dress?_

(*********)

Percy's POV

_Please. Please. Please._

I had just gotten the call about Annabeth's car accident. I had dropped the phone and ran to my car. I drove as fast as I possibly could, and probably would've gotten pulled over, had a police officer droven by. But I didn't care. I had to get to Annabeth.

I burst through the hospital doors and ran to the desk. "Annabeth Chase," I said in between breaths.

"Right through those doors," the nurse said as she pointed to a room.

"Thank you." I ran to the room.

When I walked inside, I saw Annabeth's parents sitting in the chairs looking worried. Her brothers were playing around on the ground, completely oblivious to he fact the their sister just about died in a car crash.

Then I saw Annabeth. Her leg was in a cast and her arms were bruised and cut. Her hair was a tangled mess, but her face was as angelic as ever. Her eyes were closed.

Annabeth's parents saw me walk in and her stepmom whispered, "She's asleep." I nodded. Annabeth's dad grabbed Matthew and Bobby, Annabeth's brothers, and took them out of the room. Annabeth's stepmom followed, leaving me alone with Annabeth.

I walked over to the bed and sat down on the edge. I stroked her cheek. Her eyes fluttered open. "Percy?" she whispered weakly.

"I'm right here." I grabbed her hand.

"Percy, I'm so sorry," she continued. "My leg is broken and I can't go to prom on Friday. I'm so sorry."

"Shhh," I said. "It's just a dance, Annabeth. It was nothing important. We always have next year."

"But still-"

"No. I don't want to talk about it." It didn't seem fair that evryone got to get their fairytale night, while Annabeth was stuck in her cabin. Then, I got an idea. "Annabeth, when do you get out of the hospital?"

Annabeth gave me a puzzled look. "Tomorrow. Why?"

"You're staying at Camp Half-Blood, right?"

"Yeah. Percy, what are you planning?"

I gave her a mischievous smile. "You'll see, Wise Girl." I leaned down and gave her a kiss. Then I ran out of the room. I had some planning to do.

(*********)

**Prom Night**

It was prom night at Camp Half-Blood. All the girls were dressed up and squealing, while all the guys looked pained.

I stayed in my cabin until I was sure that everyone was all ready at the dance. Then I grabbed a flashlight and set out.

When I got to the Athena cabin, I saw that there was only one faint light on. Annabeth. I walked inside.

Annabeth seemed suprised to see me. She turned around when she heard me enter, then her shoulders relaxed when she realized it was me. "Oh. It's you. What are you doing here, Percy? Shouldn't you be at the dance?"

I shrugged. "It didn't seem fair to me that everyone else got their fairytale night, when the one who deserved it the most is stuck in her cabin all alone."

Annabeth seemed confused. "What do you mean?"

I walked towards her and picked her up, bridal style. She yelped and wrapped her arms around my neck. "It's all right," I reassured. "I got you."

"What are you doing, Seaweed Brain?" she hissed in my ear. But I could tell she was curious about what I was doing.

"I'm giving you a prom," I told her as I carried her outside. Her eyes widened when she saw the moonlight picnic I set up. I set her down on the blanket.

"Percy, you didn't have to do this," Annabeth said after we started eating. "I would've been fine in my cabin all night."

"You don't deserve that Annabeth. No one does."

Annabeth smiled. "Thank you, Seaweed Brain."

I stood up. "Would you care to dance with me, milady?" I said.

"Percy, I can't-" I cut Annabeth off as I picked her up. I started slow dancing with her. She looked startled at first, but then she smiled and laid her head on my chest. We danced like that for a while longer, neither of us talking, just enjoying each other's company. Then, Annabeth lifted her head off my chest and gave me a big kiss on the lips. "Thank you so much," she said when we pulled apart.

Suddenly, I didn't care that we weren't at the actual dance with everyone else. It was more enjoyable with just Annabeth and I. At that moment, our prom seemed much better than any other prom in the entire world.

**So what did you guys think? Did you love it? Hate it? Tell me in a review.**

**No verse with this chapter. It's like in the middle of the night, so I can't get to a Bibe at the moment. Sorry!**


	3. All That Matters

**Hey guys! I'm sorry I haven't posted in a while. I had 50K Days this past weekend, which basicly means we had to do different odd jobs around town and at people's houses to raise $50,000 for missions. We did it! We reached $50,000! My missions trip is completely paid off!(Btw, it cost $400! I'm so happy!) And I had my birthday! I'm officially 13!**

**Okay, now that I finished my rant, onto the story! This is a way that the Percabeth reunion could go. This chapter is inspired by So Many Reunions by The Artemis. I was reading her story and this scene came to my mind. Hope you enjoy it! Oh! And go check So Many Reunions!**

**Disclaimer: Believe me, I don't own PJO. If I did, why in the world would I be on fanfiction?**

All That Matters

Percy scanned the faces of the Greeks, hoping to catch a flash of blonde curls or a glimpse of gray eyes. No such luck. All he saw were three demigods who he didn't recognize. One was a beautiful girl with choppy brown hair and eyes that seemed to be all different kinds of colors. Then there was a guy with curly hair. He had a toolbelt wrapped around his waist and his were coated with grime. His eyes lit up like he just drank twenty Red Bulls and he was bouncing from foot to foot. The other kid had short blonde hair and eyes as blue as the sky. He had a strange resemblence to Thalia, though Percy had no idea why. The boy was standing tall and regally**(did I use that right?)**, but Percy could tell he was nervous. Instantly, Percy knew he was studying the famous Jason Grace.

Jason locked eyes with Percy. _Where's Annabeth?_Percy mouthed. Jason nodded his head to the giant warship floating behind them. Percy nodded and ran off to the ship.

(*********)

Percy searched the ship and was about to give up, when he noticed a door at the end of the one hallway he had yet explored that was cracked open slightly. Percy took a deep breath, walked over to the door, and peered inside. The walls were painted a light gray. A desk lay in the far right corner, papers covering the surface. A TV sat on a wooden dresser, the remote right next to it. A fuzzy gray rug lay on the floor, slightly darker than the walls. A bookshelf sat parallel from the dresser, overflowing with books. Finally, a bed lie in the far left corner. On the bed, a girl with tan skin and curly blonde hair strewn all over the pillow lie. Percy's heart skipped a beat and his stomach started doing flip-flops. After eight months, here she was. Annabeth was asleep right in front of him.

Percy walked over to the bed and laid down next to his girlfriend. He started stroking her hair and staring at her. He finally had Annabeth back. And that's all that matters.

Eventually, Percy fell asleep.

(*********)

_You'll never beat me, child._

"Stop it!" Annabeth yelled. "We will beat you!"

_Never. And in fact, you will die._

"No!"

_Oh, you'll see. You will die a slow, painful death. You will never see your friends or family again._

"Shut it, Gaea! I won't die!"

_But you will. And to make it even more entertaining, you are destined to die in Percy Jackson's arms._

"N-" Annabeth faltered. "Wait, what?"

_Percy will watch you die, not doing anything about it. But, surrender to me, and this will never happen._

"Never!" Annabeth screamed. "I will never surrender!"

_Very well. But, in return for your decision_**(does that make sense?)**_, I'll show you what is destined to happen._

Annabeth saw herself stumbling up a hill, blood pouring out of her side. Dirt coated her face and her blonde curls were caked with blood. Suddenly she tripped and fell down.Annabeth curled up into a ball, screaming in pain. "Help me!" she screamed to anyone who could hear. "Help me!"

Annabeth saw Percy run up the hill, sword in hand. "Annabeth!" he yelled. "Annabeth!" His eyes then fell upon a broken Annabeth. He saw the pool of blood that surrounded her and the tears streaming down her face. He ran to her side.

Annabeth spotted Percy running towards her. "Percy," she whispered, her voice full of pain, as she reached out a blood-caked hand.

"Annabeth," Percy said as he fell down next to her. He picked her up, despite her cries of pain, and held her close to him. "Annabeth, I'm sorry," he muttered, as she cried and screamed. "I'm so sorry."

The scene vanished. Annabeth fell to her knees in despair. How could Percy do that to her? Gaea must be manipulating it somehow. Maybe the injury was so bad, nobody could heal it. Or maybe that was another couple. But deep down, Annabeth knew the sickening truth: she would die in Percy's arms. And he wouldn't do anything about it.

_This is what is destined to happen. And that is only a glimpse of he real thing. It will be much worse. Farewell, Annabeth Chase. I doubt I will see you again._

(*********)

"Annabeth," a soft voice whispered in her ear. "Annabeth, wake up."

Annabeth's eyes fluttered open. She could feel dried tears on her cheeks. Her hands were shaking and the events of her dream came rushing back to her.

Gaea.

Percy.

Her blood.

Her death.

"Annabeth?" Annabeth glanced up. Standing above her, gazing down at her warmly,was a boy with jet black hair and sea green eyes.

Oh, Zeus.

_His_ jet black hair.

_His_ sea green eyes.

"Percy?"

Percy smiled. His eyes shined. Annabeth tried to keep herself from drowning in his sea green eyes, like everytime Percy looked at her. "Hey, Wise Girl."

Anger surged through Annabeth, replacing the happiness. Percy had been missing for eight months, causing her sleepless nights, crying fits, extreme loneliness, and all he can say is _hey_?

Without thinking, Annabeth jumped off her bed, causing Percy to yelp, grabbed her knife off the dresser, and dug the point under Percy's chin. Percy just stood there, stunned. "W-what did I do?" he asked.

"I'll tell you what you did," Annabeth said in a freakishly calm voice. "You disappear for eight months, causing me to go crazy with worry. And the first thing you say to me is _hey_?"

"Well, what else was I supposed to say?" Percy shot back. His hand was moving ever so slowly towards his pocket, where Annabeth knew he kept his trusty sword, Riptide.

"A simple, 'Oh, I missed you,' would've been fine," Annabeth replied calmly. She prepared herself for Percy's strike. His hand was almost to his pocket.

"I'm sorry?" Percy tried. "Annabeth, I missed you."

"Not gonna work, Seaweed Brain," Annabeth snapped. "You'll have to do way better."

Three, two, one...

Percy snapped out his sword and knocked Annabeth's knife out from under his chin and probably would've knocked it out of her hand, had she not been prepared. Annabeth smirked att Percy's confused look. Then she stabbed her knife at his stomach, but he quickly sidestepped. Percy slashed at her arm, but Annabeth deflected it easily.

"You've seemed to have forgotten your sword skills, Percy," Annabeth taunted.

"Whatever." Percy now slashed at her head. Annabeth ducked. They went on like that for a few minutes, slashing and stabbing at each other, not daring to make a move on the other person. Then, they both went in for a slash at the same time and their swords clashed together. They stood there, staring at each other. Annabeth put on her best glare, trying(again) to not drown in his sea green eyes. Percy leaned in a little closer, despite the blade inbetween them. Annabeth could practically feel his breath on her. Finally, Percy dropped his sword and grabbed Annabeth's wrist. He twisted the blade out of her hand, wrapped his arms around her waist, and gave her a sweet, gentle kiss.

Annabeth was startled, but only for a moment. Her eyes eventually shut and she felt her arms wrap around Percy's neck. The world around the couple melted away, leaving them and the kiss.

When they broke apart, Annabeth laid her head on Percy's chest and Percy set his chin on her head. They sat there like that for what seemed like eternity, when Annabeth finally broke the silence. She lifted her head off of Percy's chest and said, "I'm sorry, Percy. I shouldn't have lashed out at you. It wasn't your fault you went missing."

"No, no," Percy protested. "It was my fault. I shouldn't have acted like seeing you again was no big deal, when in reality, it was a big deal. I'm really sorry. I can't imagine what I've put you through these past months."

Annabeth smiled. "It's fine, Seaweed Brain."

Annabeth laid her head back on Percy's chest, inhaling his ocean scent. Everytime she hugged him, she smelled that scent, and she loved it. She'd never forget it as long as she lived. Which wasn't that long, accaording to Gaea.

_Stop it,_ she told herself._ You won't die. Percy won't let you die. Percy's not like Luke..._

Annabeth took a shaky breath and Percy pulled away and looked down at her. "You okay?" he asked worried.

Annabeth gazed warmly into Percy's eyes. No, Percy _definitely_ wasn't like Luke.

Annabeth nodded. "I'm fine." But she didn't add what else she wanted to day:_ now that I'm with you._

And that's all that matters.

**Thanks for reading! Now that you've made it this far, why don't you go ahead and review? Thank you!**

**I know that was extremely cheesy, but hey. I like to write cheesy things. So deal with it! I've allso noticed that I'm getting obsessed with writing dreams. In my upcoming MoA chapter, there's another dream! They're just so much fine to write!**

**Here's two verses, because I feel like posting two verses:**

**"You're familiar with the command to the ancients, 'Do not murder.' I'm telling you that anyone who is so much as angry with a brother or sister is guilty of murder. Carelessly call a brother, 'idiot!' and you just might find yourself hauled into court. Thoughtlessly yell, 'stupid!' at a sister and you are on the brink of a hellfire. The simple moral fact is that words kill." Matthem 5:21-22(MSG)**

**"I will not forget you! See, I have engraved you on the palms of My hands." Isaiah 49:15-16 **


	4. Sick Days

**Hey guys! I'm alive! I'm so sorry for the wait! I couldn't think of a new chapter for this story. So this one probably stinks. If anyone has an idea, put it in a review and I'll try to use it! Please! **

**I know this is short, but I'm having writer's block. Deal with it!**

**Disclaimer: I don't own PJO. Rick Riordan does.**

Sick Days

Percy's POV

Percy heard his wife, Annabeth, puking in their bathroom. She had been throwing up all day. Percy had taken her to the doctor, and she just had a stomach bug. But, being a half-blood, it was worse for her. She was constantly shivering, even when she was surrounded by warm blankets. She puked constantly. When they were at the doctor, she threw up on the doctor's shoes. She was very pale and her forehead was burning.

Annabeth slowly walked out of the bathroom. She was holding her stomach and her eyes were shut tightly in pain. She was still shivering, despite the gray sweats and Yankees sweatshirt she was wearing. Her hair was tied up in a sloppy ponytail. She climbed into the bed and Percy tucked the comforter around her. She dug deeper into the bed. "Hey," Percy said gently. "You feeling all right?"

Annabeth glared at him. "Yes, Percy. I'm just all sunshine and laughs right now. No, Seaweed Brain! I'm puking every two minutes! Do we have any medicine?"

"You know the medicine won't help too much. We're half-bloods."

"How about some ambrosia or nectar?" she asked hopefully.

Percy shook his head. "We're supposed to be getting some from camp tomorrow."

Annabeth groaned and rolled over. Then, she suddenly got up and ran to the bathroom. Percy sighed and got the trashcan from the kitchen. He set it on Annabeth's side of the bed.

Annabeth walked out of the bathroom, wiping her mouth with the back of her hand. She climbed back into the bed. "I put a trashcan next to the bed so that you don't have to get up to throw up," Percy said helpfully.

"Yeah, I noticed," Annabeth snapped. Did Percy mention that Annabeth was extremely cranky whenever she was sick?

Percy crawled over to his wife and layed down next to her. Annabeth moved her head so that it rested on Percy's chest and Percy put a warm, comforting arm around her. Annabeth shivered underneath Percy's arm and she burrowed deeper into his chest. Percy moved his arm up and down, trying to warm Annabeth up. "Percy," Annabeth whispered. "My stomach is killing me."

"I know," Percy comforted. "It should be gone by tomorrow. That's what the doctor said."

"It hurts," Annabeth whimpered. "The knife I took for you in the Titan War hurt less than this."

Percy just nodded and put his other arm around her. He hated seeing Annabeth like this. She seemed so helpless, so vulnerable. Shaking underneath Percy's arms, she didn't seem like the girl who survived two great wars and four quests. But Percy loved her anyway.

Annabeth leaned over the side of the bed and started puking again. Percy patted her back, comfortingly. Annabeth sat back up and looked at Percy apologetically. "Sorry," she said weakly.

In response, Percy wrapped his arms around Annabeth and pulled her to him. He gave her a sweet, gentle kiss.

"Why'd you do that?" Annabeth asked when they pulled apart. "I just puked."

Percy shrugged and said, "I don't care. And besides, you're my wife. Shouldn't I be allowed to kiss you whenever I want?"

Annabeth laughed for the first time that day. She layed her head on Percy's chest and they sat like that until Annabeth started shivering again. Percy layed Annabeth down on the bed and tucked her in. Then, he grabbed the remote and turned on the TV. He flipped on the History channel and layed down next to Annabeth. Together, they watched a documentary on World War ll, Annabeth throwing up every couple of minutes and Percy comforting her through the pain.

**Again, I am so sorry it was short. I really liked this idea, but since I have writer's block, I couldn't think of a whole lot. So, sorry!**

**I'm going on a missions trip for a few days, so I won't be able to update. But I'm going to try to update my MoA story before I leave. I can't think of how to write this one scene, so I don't know if I'm gonna update tomorrow since I leave on Thursday. **

**No verse! Sorry guys!**


	5. Back To December

**Hey, hey! Here's a new chapter! Hope you like it! It's a songfic, Back To December by Taylor Swift. **

**Disclaimer: I don't own PJO. Or Back To December.**

Back To December

_I'm so glad you made time to see me._

_How's life? Tell me, how's your family._

_I haven't seen them in a while._

_You've been good, busier than ever._

_We small talk, work and the weather. Your guard is up, and I know why._

_Because the last time you saw me is still burned in the back of your mind. _

_You gave me roses and I left them there to die._

Annabeth ran into Percy while in the sword arena at Camp Half-Blood. Her architecture company had given her the day off, so she decided to go visit her home. As she knocked the sword out of a son of Apollo, she spotted her ex-boyfriend, Percy Jackson. She quickly looked away as memories flooded her brain. The Apollo kid, Jackson Roberts, glanced back and saw Percy. Then he looked back at Annabeth, a small smile on his face.

"What?" Annabeth glared at him. "Why are you smiling?"

"Nothing," he said quickly. A little too quickly. Annabeth stared at him a little longer, then released her knife from under his chin. She walked over to Percy. He was talking to Nico, son of Hades. "Hey," Annabeth said.

"Hey," Percy said back, not even glancing at her. Annabeth sighed to herself.

"Hey, Annabeth," Nico said. He glanced at the ex-couple, trying to hide a small smile. "Well, I'm going to get going. Got a lot of errands to do for Dad." Then he disappeared into the shadows.

Annabeth turned to look at Percy. "So," she said awkwardly, "how's your family? Are Paul and Sally doing all right?"

Percy nodded. "Yeah. They're doing fine. How's your job?"

Annabeth brightened a bit. But it immediately died down when she realized Percy didn't care anymore. "It's fine. I like it a lot."

"That's good."

"Weather's nice," Annabeth said. _Really, Annabeth? Weather?_

"Yeah."

Annabeth silently yelled at herself. Why did she do what she did? Now, Percy will probably never love for a long time. And Annabeth will live life knowing it was her fault.

"I'm sorry," she muttered, but Percy was all ready walking away.

_So this is me swallowing my pride,_

_Standing in front of you saying I'm sorry for that night._

_And I go back to December all the time._

_It turns out freedom ain't nothing but missing you,_

_Wishing I'd realize what I had when you were mine._

_And I go back to December, turn around and make it all right._

_I go back to December all the time._

Annabeth watched Percy go. She wanted to break into tears, right then and there. She wanted to go back in time, back to that December night when it all fell apart. Most of all, she wanted to admit that she was still in love with Percy. But what would he do? Laugh in her face, most likely. _Haha! You really think I'd ever love you again after what you did to me! Aphrodite has a better chance of actually falling in love wih Hephaestus! _Probably.

Annabeth flashed back to that dreadful night:

_"How could you do this to me! I thought you loved me!"_

_"Annabeth, I didn't do it. I do love you!"_

_"I don't want to hear it! I hate you!"_

Annabeth snapped out of her flashback, tears welling up in her eyes. She quickly wiped them away, before anyone could see them. She would not allow anybody to see her cry. Except for Percy...

_These days, I haven't been sleeping._

_Staying up, playing back myself leaving._

_When your birthday passed and I didn't call. _

_Then I think about summer, all the beautiful times,_

_I watched you laughing from the passenger side._

_And realized I loved you in the fall._

_Then the cold came, the dark days when fear crept into my mind._

_You gave me all your love, and all I gave you was goodbye._

Annabeth walked into the dining pavilion, rubbing her eyes and yawning. She didn't get any sleep last night. Everytime she closed her eyes, she saw images of the night her and Percy broke up. She kept seeing herself running out of his apartment, Percy running after her and his parents staring, wondering what happened. Then she'd wake up crying.

As Annabeth was walking to her table, she caught Percy's eye. He looked at her for a second, taking in the bags under her eyes and her tear-stained cheeks. Then he quickly looked away. Annabeth sighed. She remembered it being his twenty-first birthday, and she never called, not being able to bear the pain of hearing his voice. She remembered last summer, four years after they won the Giant War, driving through Manhatten in his pick-up truck, watching him laughing at some joke he made. Then in the fall of that same year, when they first told each other that they love each other.

Then that awful winter, when the dreaded break-up happened. Annabeth flashed back to the entire break-up scene.

_Annabeth ran to Percy's apartment in disbelief. How could he do this to her? How could he hurt her like this?_

_Annabeth knocked on the door, and Percy's mom Sally answered it. A smile errupted on her face. "Annabeth! Come on in. How are you?"_

_Annabeth attempted a smile. "I'm fine, Mrs. Blofis. Is Percy home?"_

_"Yes, he is. He's in his room."_

_"Thank you," Annabeth said politely. Then she started walking to her boyfriend's room._

_When she got there, she took a deep breath and knocked. "Percy? It's Annabeth. Can I come in?"_

_A muffled, "Yeah," came through the door. _

_Annabeth walked in and sat down on the edge of Percy's bed. She stared at the floor. His room was nowhere near clean. There were clothes strewn all over the floor, and falling out of the dresser. His backpack was in the center of the room, books falling out of it. Percy was lying on his bed, watching TV. _

_"Hey," Percy said, sitting up and scooting over to where it Annabeth was. "What's up?"_

_"Why'd you do it?" she asked the pain and hurt she had been feeling the past few days showing in her words._

_Percy furrowed his eyebrows. "Why'd I do what?"_

_"Oh, don't act like you don't know," Annabeth snapped, her voice fierce. _

_"Look, Annabeth, I don't know. What did I do?" Man, Percy was really pushing it._

_"Why did you cheat on me?"_

_Percy stared at her, completely stunned. "Where'd you hear that?" he asked finally._

_"Miranda told me that she saw you kissing Drew! Percy, what were you thinking? Was I not good enough for you?"_

_Percy ran his hand through his air and groaned. "Miranda told you that?"_

_"That's what I said, is it not?"_

_"Annabeth, it's not true." Percy tried to scoot closer to his girlfriend. "You see, they were-"_

_Annabeth just brushed him away. Tears were now streaming down her face. "How could you do this to me! I thought you loved me!"_

_"Annabeth, I didn't do it. I do love you!"_

_"I don't want to hear it! I hate you!" Annabeth ran out of the room, crying. Percy ran after and grabbed her arm. "Annabeth-"_

_"Just leave me alone, Percy. It's over."_

Annabeth blinked the flashback away, and walked over to her table. She couldn't believe how stupid she had been. If only she had stopped to listen to Percy, to hear the whole story, before she dumped him. If only she had listened. She would've heard that Connor Stoll dared Miranda to tell Annabeth that she caught Percy kissing Drew. They hadn't known that it would end up ending the couple.

_So this is me swallowing my pride,_

_Standing in front of you saying I'm sorry for that night._

_And I go back to December all the time._

_It turns out freedom ain't nothing but missing you,_

_Wishing I'd realize what I had when you were mine._

_And I go back to December, turn around and make it all right._

_I go back to December all the time._

Annabeth couldn't explain how muched she missed her boyfriend. It was like when they were fourteen: it hurt to be with him but it hurt to not be with him. She wished she hadn't taken him for granted. She wished she realized how blessed she was when she had him. But it had taken losing him to realize what she had had. And she'd never forgive herself.

"You okay?" Malcolm's voice brought Annabeth back to reality.

"Huh? Oh, yeah. I'm fine."

Malcolm noticed she was glancing over at Percy longingly. He chuckled and smiled at her. "What?" Annabeth asked.

Malcolm lowered his voice. "You're still in love with Percy, aren't you?"

Annabeth couldn't meet his eyes. "Maybe..." she said finally.

Malcolm cackled in victory. "Ha ha! I knew it!"

"Shhh!" Annabeth scolded. "You know, I don't really want the whole world to know that I'm still in love with my ex-boyfriend. I'd kinda like to keep it a secret."

Malcolm laughed and shook his head. "So, what are you gonna do?" he asked, staring expectantly at Annabeth.

"Well, I don't know! I'm not a daughter of Aphrodite! I'm the daughter of Athena! I know nothing about romance!" Annabeth snapped. Malcolm looked a little surprised.

"Sorry," Annabeth muttered. Suddenly, she knew what she was gonna do. "Malcolm! I know what I'm gonna do! My mother may not be the goddess of love, but my mother is the goddess of wisdom, which means that I have a way with words."

Malcolm smiled. "There you go."

Annabeth gave Malcolm a hug. "Thanks!" she said. Then she got up and left.

_I miss your tan skin, your sweet smile,_

_So good to me, so right._

_And how you held me in your arms that September night,_

_The first time you ever saw me cry._

_Maybe this is wishful thinking_

_Probably mindless dreaming._

_But if we loved again, I swear I'd love you right._

_I'd go back in time and change it, but I can't._

_So if the chain is on your door, I understand._

Annabeth clenched and unclenched her fist, again and again. Her stomach became a home for butterflies. It was night at Camp Half-Blood, and everyone was asleep, except for a very nervous 21-year-old daughter of Athena. As she ran towards the Poseidon cabin, she felt the pouch that contained ten small pebbles bouncing on her hip. She had talked to Piper, and she told her that the best and sweetest way to get a someone's attention was to through pebbles at their window. So Annabeth decided to go for it. She was wearing skinny jeans, her camp shirt, sandals, and her gray jacket. She wore her camp nacklace and the necklace Percy gave her for their first anniversay.

When she reached the Poseidon cabin's side window, she took a deep breath and grabbed a pebble. It felt cold and smooth against her palm. She closed her eyes and prayed a quick prayer to Aphrodite. Then she lifted her hand and tossed up the pebble.

_Clang._

The pebble hit the window and Annabeth sucked in a breath and waited. Nothing. She grabbed another pebble and threw it.

_Clang._

Annabeth sucked in another breath and waited. This time, Percy poked his head out of the window and looked around. "Percy!" Annabeth whispered. "Down here!"

Percy spotted Annabeth, and his eyes widened. Annabeth paused and started regretting her decision to tell him how she felt, but she pushed it back. She was going to tell him, whether he rejected her or not.

"We need to talk," she said.

"No, we don't," Percy said and was turning away until Annabeth threw a pebble at him.

"Yes. We do," she said firmly, putting on her best glare.

Percy looked back at Annabeth, surprised. Finally, he said, "All right. I'll meet at the beach in a minute." Then he turned back into his cabin.

Annabeth stood there for a second, digesting what just happened. She smiled. Percy was going to listen to her. Now all she had to worry about was him rejecting her.

When Percy met Annabeth at the beach, she didn't even know where to start.

"Hey," he said. "What do you need to talk about?"

Annabeth took a deep breath for the umpteenth time that day and said, "Percy, I'm so sorry."

Percy looked startled. "What for?"

Annabeth glared at him. "You know what. When I blamed you for cheating on me."

"Ohhh," Percy said. "I see now."

Annabeth continued. "I realized when I lost you, how much you meant to me. I missed your smile, how you wrapped your tan arms around me. I remembered that night in September when my dad got diagnosed with cancer. You held me while I cried and cried and cried." Percy chuckled at that comment.

_But this is me swallowing my pride,_

_Standing in front of you saying I'm sorry for that night._

_And I go back to December._

_It turns out freedom ain't nothing but missing you,_

_Wishing I'd realize what I had when you were mine._

_I go back to December, turn around and make it all right._

_I go back to December, turn around and change my own mind._

_I go back to December all the time._

_All the time._

"So," Annabeth said slowly, "this is me taking my diginity and pride and throwing it all away. Percy, I'm so sorry. I wished I could go back to that day and change what I said, make me believe you. If I could go back in time, I would, believe me."

"So what are you trying to say?" Percy said quietly.

"I guess what I'm trying to say, is that I'm still in love with you, Percy. Strangely, madly, beautifully in love."

Percy sat there, staring out at the ocean. Annabeth stood there and watched his face, the way his eyes crinkled, the way his mouth was in a perfectly straight line. _Here it comes,_ Annabeth braced herself for Percy's rejection. _Just be ready for him to laugh in your face, tell you it's never going to happen, say I should go get a cat because it'll be the first of many..._

Percy started laughing and smiling. Annabeth's face fell and she plopped down onto the sand. She knew this would've happened, but a part of her still wanted him to say that he still loved her too. But she now knew that was impossible. Wonder what kind of cats the pet store had?

But then Annabeth felt strong arms wrap around her and lift her up off of the ground. "What are you doing?" Annabeth shrieked. "Let go of me!"

"Not a chance, Wise Girl," Percy whispered in her ear. "I have a secret to tell you too."

Annabeth was surprised. "What is it?"

"I'm still in love with you also."

Annabeth was shocked. Sure, she _wished_ that he was still in love with her, but she hadn't been expecting it. "Really?" she croaked.

Percy nodded. "Really." He set her down and Annabeth spun around to face Percy. "So..." he said, "Annabeth Chase, would you do me the honor of being my girlfriend for the second time?"

Annabeth smiled. "Yes!" she cried and threw her arms around him. He wrapped his arms around her waist and gave her a long, sweet kiss. When they pulled apart, they realized that they had an audience: the entire camp.

"Finally!" Malcolm cried and the rest of the camp cheered. They surrounded the happy couple, and Clarisse shouted, "Just like old times!" They picked up Percy and Annabeth and carried them to the canoe lake. Right before they were thrown in, Annabeth caught Piper's eye. Piper laughed, then smiled innocently. _She_ was the littke rat who told everybody about Annabeth's meeting with Percy. Annabeth gave her her best glare before she was thrown into the canoe lake, holding hands with Percy.

**And finish! Wow, that took a long time to write! I hope you liked it! I really didn't like this one. It felt OOC to me and it just wasn't my best work. Anyway, review!**

**Heaven and earth will pass away, but My words will never pass away. Matthew 24:35(NIV)**


	6. Playing With Water

**Hello! Here's a new chapter! I'm writing this at the beach! Well, beach house. Be jealous!**

**In this story, the Giant War just ended and Percy and Annabeth are seventeen.**

**Disclaimer: Rick Riordan owns PJO. Not me.**

Playing With Water

"Where are we going?" Annabeth asked for the umpteenth time, her hands covering her eyes. She was in a small rowboat with her boyfriend, Percy Jackson, son of Poseidon. Percy was taking her somewhere, but insisted that it was surprise. She didn't know what could be so amazing that was located in the middle of the ocean.

Annabeth heard Percy chuckle. "It's a surprise. I can't tell you. But we're almost there."

After about two minutes, Percy finally said, "We're here. You can open your eyes now." Annabeth peeled her hands away from her eyes and looked around. They were still in the middle of the ocean. "What are we doing here?"

Percy smiled. "Look around harder. I know you can figure it out, Wise Girl." Annabeth looked away from Percy, confused, and stared harder. The ocean didn't seem as deep as it had. It seemed as if it were flowing right above something. And the water wasn't murky green anymore, it was more of a sandy brown. "We're at a sandbar," Annabeth muttered.

"Correct," Percy said.

"But why are we here?" Annabeth continued. "What's so special about a sandbar?"

"This," Percy said as he willed the boat to stay put. Then, he surprised Annabeth by jumping in. He disappeared underneath the waves and then popped back up, whipping his wet hair out of his face. He swam over to the sandbar and stood.

Annabeth was trying to process what just happened. "You're wet," was all that she could say.

"Yeah," Percy replied. "I figured you'd feel more comfortable if I was wet."

"What makes you think I'm getting in the water?" Annabeth snapped. "We're in the middle of the ocean, for Zeus' sake!"

Percy laughed. "Maybe you'll change your mind when I do this!" Percy swam over and splashed Annabeth with water. It hit Annabeth's torso and she glared at Percy. She almost jumped out of the boat to get Percy back, but then she remembered he was trying to get her into the water. So instead she leaned back in the boat with a smug look on her face. "Still not getting in," she said.

Percy looked disappointed. Then his face brightened up a bit and he looked at his girlfriend mischievously. Annabeth glared at him, wondering what he was going to do. She fingered the dagger that was resting next to her in the boat.

"I didn't want to go this far, Annabeth," Percy said dramatically. Annabeth would've rolled her eyes, but she was a little worried about what Percy had planned. "But you leave me no choice."

Percy thrust out his hand and a wave came up and doused Annabeth, flipping the boat over in the process. Annabeth was forced under the water, but she fought her way up. She surfaced, coughing and rubbing her eyes to get the water out. She spotted Percy standing just five feet away from her. She swam until she hit a mound of sand. Percy trudged over to her and helped her up. The waves that were slamming into them didn't seem to affect Percy. "You got in," Percy teased. Then he asked in a concerned tone, "You okay?"

Annabeth glared at him. "I cannot believe you just did that."

Percy flashed her an innocent grin. A strong wave came crashing down on them and Percy grabbed Annabeth's hand to keep her from floating away. Annabeth tried to pull away when she was standing again, but Percy intertwined their fingers and held her hand firmly, not letting go. Annabeth shot him an irritated look. She didn't want him to think that she liked him holding her hand. Even though she did. He just shrugged his shoulders and glanced behind them. "Okay," he said. "There's a big wave coming up behind us. When I say go, you and I are going to dive ahead of it and ride it. Got it?"

"What makes you think that-"

"GO!" Percy dived down into the water, pulling Annabeth with him. She felt the wave pushing her and Percy forward. She felt like she was flying, even if she was underwater.

When they popped back up, Annabeth was smiling. "That was fun."

Percy smiled. "Glad you're enjoying yourself. I thought you were going to murder me when I pushed you out of the boat."

"I probably would've. But the fact that you're my boyfriend made me spare you."

"Why thank you," Percy replied. They swam back to the bar and waited for another perfect wave to ride.

"So, how's Olympus coming along?" Percy asked.

Annabeth shot him a look. "You never ask about Olympus. Or architecture in general. It bores you. So why are you all of a sudden asking about it?"

Percy shrugged. "Trying to be a better boyfriend."

Annabeth laughed. She spotted a big wave heading their wave. "You don't need to try to be a better boyfriend. You're all ready perfect." Then Annabeth dove into the wave, missing Percy's reaction. When she resurfaced, she saw Percy gaping at her. She laughed again and swam over to him. "What's up?" she asked, smiling.

"You just said that I'm the perfect boyfriend. Then you dove into the wave and swam off," Percy said, obviously still trying to wrap his mind over what Annabeth had just said.

Annabeth rolled her eyes. He was such a Seaweed Brain. She watched as Percy's face brightened and he slowly smiled. "You really think I'm the perfect boyfriend?"

Annabeth nodded. "Yup." Percy smiled even wider and wrapped his arms around Annabeth's waist and leaned in to kiss her. They were about an inch away when a wave came and engulfed them in water. They both came up laughing.

Annabeth swam over to Percy and he grabbed her waist. He started pulling her under the water, Annabeth running out of breath every second. Right when Annabeth thought she would burst, Percy created a bubble that surrounded them. Annabeth coughed up at least a gallon of water and took deep breaths. Percy just sat there, quietly rubbing her back.

When she was finished coughing and was breathing normally, Annabeth leaned back into Percy. "You okay?" he asked for the second time that day.

"Yeah, I'm fine," Annabeth replied. "Just choked on a little water."

Percy nodded. They sat there in silence for a few minutes, watching fish and squid and even sharks swim by. They seemed to bow to Percy and Percy nodded back. Annabeth laughed.

Percy looked at her blankly. "What?"

"You don't seem to know how weird it is that sea creatures _bow _to you. That's not normal."

"I'm not normal," Percy replied.

"But still," Annabeth continued, "you seem to act like it's totally normal. It's not."

This time, Percy chuckled. "And _you_ act like redesigning Olympus is completely normal. It's not. Besides, no seventeen year old girl designs any building that I've heard of."

"Point taken," Annabeth said, smiling.

"I'm so glad you're still here," Percy said quietly.

Annabeth's smile faded. She knew exactly what Percy was talking about. During the final battle in the second Giant War, Annabeth had been injured beyond healing. Ambrosia and nectar had no effect. Percy tried to use his water powers to heal her, but that didn't work. She knew that if Percy took her to a mortal hospital, they would just tell him that she had no chance of living. Annabeth had felt herself slowly fading away. Right before she took her last breath, she whispered to Percy, "Apollo." Luckily, Percy understood and called on the god. Apollo had the power to heal her and, thankfully, he had healed her. Ever since then, Percy and Annabeth had become closer than ever. They were afraid of losing each other again.

"I am too," Annabeth replied. She burrowed closer to Percy's chest. He wrapped his arms around her, providing her comfort. They sat there like that for a while, Percy telling any sea creature who swam by to shoo. Annabeth would've laughed, but unfortunately, she wasn't in the best of moods at the moment.

Finally, Percy broke the silence. "You want to go back up? We have about an hour until sunset."

Annabeth smiled. "Sure."

When they reached the surface, they both swam together to the sandbar. Percy decided that he should do Annabeth a favor and dunk her. When she resurfaced, glared at Percy. "Why did you do that?" she asked, her voice menacing.

Percy backed up slowly. "Um, having some fun?"

"Well, you just messed with the wrong girl." Annabeth ran, er, swam, after Percy, not sure what she would do if she caught him. Even though Percy was the son of Poseidon, Annabeth was a strong swimmer and had no problem catching up to him. She crept up behind him, silently laughing at Percy, who was looking around for her, no doubt. She crept closer to him, until she was right beind him.

Just before she was going to jump on Percy's back, he whipped around and picked her up. "Hey! Put me down!" she demanded, though it didn't sound so threatening because she was laughing.

"Not a chance," Percy said.

"How did you know I was behind you?"

"I'm the son of Poseidon. I can sense your presence."

"Oh. Oh right." Annabeth felt so stupid. Of course he could sense her presence!

When Percy started swimming, Annabeth realized that Percy was still holding her. And she kind of liked it. Not that she would ever mention that to Percy.

Percy and her sat down on the highest part of the sandbar. It came up to their ankles standing. Annabeth sat in the same position that they had been in underwater: Annabeth leaning up against Percy's they got comfortable, Percy calmed the waves and said, "Look."

Annabeth shifted her gaze to where Percy was pointing: the sky. The sun was setting, causing the sky to be an array of colors: pink, orange, yellow, purple. It reflected off of the ocean, making the water look like the Northern Lights. Annabeth sighed and leaned even deeper into Percy. She loved this: the colors, the water lapping against her, the wind blowing through her hair, the fact that no monster had come to attack them yet, Percy holding her. It was all so perfect.

After sunset, Annabeth turned to Percy and said, "We'd better be getting back. Don't want to miss curfew."

Percy chuckled and Annabeth got off of him. She started making her way to where there rowboat was waiting. It seemed farther away from where they left it. She just shrugged it off and kept swimming.

Annabeth was almost to the boat when the water in front of her started bubbling up. She stopped swimming, knowing it was a monster. _Why is it always me? And why on one of the best nights of my life?_

The monster rose out of the water and Annabeth wanted to run and hide. It was a hideous serpent, green and slimy. When it bared it's teeth at Annabeth, she cringed. It's teeth were jagged and crooked, slime and who knows what else dripping from it's jaws. The creature's eyes were golden and menacing. Not eyes that could paralyze you, but close.

Percy came up behind her. "Annabeth!" He reached into the pocket of his shorts and pulled out Riptide. "Annabeth," he whispered. "Where's your knife?"

"In the boat," she whispered back, not taking her eyes off of the monster.

Out of the corner of her eye, Annabeth saw Percy nod. "Okay," he whispered so quietly, Annabeth barely heard it. "I'll distract. You go slowly around, grab your knife, and attack from behind."

Annabeth nodded. Percy willed the currents to carry him over to the sea monster. Annabeth only had a second to admire how strong and determined and, well, _scary_ Percy looked when he charged into battle. She turned away and quietly swam over to the boat. When she reached it, she grabbed her bronze knife and quickly swam away. When she reached the monster, she caught Percy's eye. Silently, she told him her plan. He nodded and went on distracting the serpent.

Annabeth crept up behind the serpent as quietly as she could. She gripped her knife and prepared to stab it. But immediately the plan fell apart.

The sea monster turned around and spotted Annabeth with the knife in her hand. He roared and bent down to bite her. She swam away just before his jaws gulped the air where she used be. Percy swam over next to her. "Well that plan backfired," he said.

"Way to be optimistic, Seaweed Brain," Annabeth snapped.

"So, what do we do?"

Annabeth thought. "Use your water powers to distract it. Big waves, mini hurricanes, whatever you got. With you distracting it like that, I might be able to get a clear shot behind it. Just don't be afraid to be rough with it."

"But what about you? If I'm rough, it'll affect you too." Percy had real concern in his eyes.

"I'll be fine," Annabeth lied. She was a strong swimmer, but not that strong. "Just do it."

Percy seemed reluctant, but he finally agreed and left Annabeth alone. He turned around and swam away, leaving Annabeth bopping in the water. She watched him go, then turned around and headed toward the boat.

The waves got rougher and rougher as Annabeth went and she knew she couldn't do this much longer. But she was almost to the boat. Just as she was about to reach out to grab onto the boat, a massive wave crashed into her and she was swept under the water. _Perfect timing, Perce,_ Annabeth thought, annoyed.

When she reached the surface again, Annabeth realized that the boat was a few feet away. She swam harder though the rough water, until she reached the boat. She scanned it for her knife and spotted it leaning against her seat. Annabeth grabbed it and swam away towards Percy and the monster.

She managed to get there without being killed, but she came across many near-death experiences, involving huge waves, strong winds, and undercurrents. She caught Percy's eye and an understanding passed between them. This fight was almost over. Annabeth crept up behind the monster, and quietly scanned the creature for a weak spot. She couldn't find one that she could reach. His only weak spot would be on it's head.

Annabeth thought about any possible ways to get to the head. She could call to Percy and he could send a massive wave to lift her up. Or Percy could do it himself. But he was probably too busy distracting the sea monster. The only other option that Annabeth could think of was to ride a wave.

Annabeth glanced behind her, looking for the perfect wave. Lucky for her, a massive one was headed her way. She floated in the water, anticipating the wave's approach. She positioned herself, facing the back of the monster, arms floating by her sides. She felt the wave hit her, then lift her up in the air. Annabeth felt like she was flying. Percy must've noticed what she was doing, because the wave was unusually ocean below her seemed farther away, like she was flying above it in an airplane. Percy and the sea monster seemed so much tinier than before. She had to stop herself from yelling with joy, the feeling was so great. Then she focused on the task at hand: slaying the monster.

Annabeth felt the wave dying down, lowering her to the water. She gripped her knife tightly and zeroed in on the monster's head. As she got closer and closer, she got more nervous. What if she missed? What if the monster turned around at the last minute and chomped her in two? Annabeth shook those thoughts out of her head. She needed to focus if she was going to do this right.

Annabeth crashed down against the monster, grabbing onto it's scales. She held on for dear life as the creature thrashed around, trying to throw Annabeth off it's back. She brought her knife up and postioned it right above it's right temple. Then she brought the knife down.

The sea creature roared before it dissolved into nothing. Annabeth fell into the sea, hitting it with a crash. She felt the bubbles surround her, tickling her feet. Then she resurfaced, out of breath. Fighting a monster really tired you out. She heard Percy yell her name and swim over to her. She swam tiredly over to him. When they reached each other, Percy wrapped his arms around Annabeth and held her as they floated in the water. Annabeth leaned into his chest, completely out of breath and exhausted. "How come you're not tired?" she asked.

"Water revives me," Percy simply replied. "I'm going to take us to the boat and go back to camp. Hang tight, okay?"

Annabeth nodded and tried not to fall asleep in Percy's chest. She felt the currents sweeping them towards their rowboat. She held onto Percy, loving the feeling that Percy always gave her. When they reached the boat, Annabeth pulled away to climb into the boat, but Percy held onto her waist. Annabeth was too tired to argue. Percy lifted himself and Annabeth into the boat. Annabeth settled herself in Percy's lap and he stroked her hair. The boat started to move, but Annabeth was all ready asleep.

(*********)

"Annabeth!"

Annabeth jerked up. She looked around at her surroundings. She was in a rowboat, that was pulled up onto shore. The sound of the ocean came from behind her. Percy was sitting right behind her. He was holding his nose. "You hit me," he moaned.

"Sorry," Annabeth muttered. She'd noticed Chiron was standing on the beach in front of them, watching, his eyes disappointed.

"Well," Chiron said, "I'm glad you two decided to join us this evening." Annabeth thanked the gods that it was dark so nobody could see how red her cheeks were. She looked over at Percy. He seemed a bit embarrassed also.

"Um, we'll just be going now," Percy said quickly. "Come on, Annabeth." He helped her get out of the boat.

They started walking away when Chiron said, "Oh, no you don't." Percy and Annabeth cringed and turned around. "You missed curfew. That results in consequences."

"Aw, come on, Chiron," Percy complained. "Can you let us off the hook, just this once? You know, as a 'thanks for saving the world a second time' gift?"

Chiron laughed and shook his head. "Sorry, Percy. You and Annabeth, kitchen duty tomorrow morning. Be at the kitchen by seven a.m. sharp."

Annabeth almost laughed when Percy muttered how the sun was still asleep at that time in the morning. Instead, she said to the centaur, "Got it, Chiron. We'll be there." Then, she grabbed Percy's arm and was about to escape, when Chiron said, "Wait. Do you both understand what will happen when you break curfew? Next time, it will be worse."

Annabeth nodded, eager to get away from Chiron. Percy just groaned and said under his breath, "Worse? What could be worse than kichen duty?"

"Well, nice running in to you," Annabeth said quickly. "See you tomorrow, bright and early. Good night." She grabbed Percy's hand and dragged him away. He was muttering about how early it was and how awful it was going to be and how now he couldn't get pancakes.

When they reached the Athena cabin, Percy stopped complaining. He pulled Annabeth in for a hug. "I'm sorry I got you in trouble," he whispered in her ear. "Seven in the morning is way too early."

Annabeth laughed. "It can't be that bad right? At least we'll be together. We can keep each other company."

"Did you have fun?"

Annabeth nodded into his shoulder. "Yeah."

"Even with the monster attack and me dumping you into the water?"

Annabeth rolled her eyes and pulled away from him. "Yes, Percy. I had a lot of fun."

"Good. Well, good night."

"Good night." They stood there awkwardly, Annabeth waiting for something else, one thing in particular. She got it when Percy wrapped his arms around her waist and leaned in. Percy's lips felt soft and warm against Annabeth's. Annabeth wrapped her arms around his neck. She couldn't think of a single thing except how much she enjoyed kissing Percy. It felt like her mind melted in her head, then flowed through the rest of her body. Only Percy made her feel like that.

When they pulled apart, breathless, Percy hugged Annabeth one last time and he headed towards Cabin Three. Annabeth watched him go. Everything about him fascinated her. The way he walked, strong, sure strides, like nothing in the world could scare him. The way his arms were hanging firmly at his side, hands balled up in fists. And his face. Oh, his face. Even though she couldn't see it, Annabeth had it seared in her mind. She loved the way his eyebrows got all scrunched up when he was worried. His mouth was so beautiful, lips full and soft. His jaw set firmly when he was focused or when something angered him. Like when other guys checked out Annabeth. He hated that. Percy's shaggy raven hair hung down by his eyes. His eyes. That's what really fascinated Annabeth above everything else. His eyes were like the ocean: green, beautiful, deep. They seemed to penetrate deep into your soul, demanding to know all of your secrets. Annabeth thought they were the most wonderous, mysterious eyes she'd ever seen.

Annabeth pratically floated into her cabin, a big smile plastered across her face. She didn't mind the disapproving looks she got from her drowsy cabinmates, or Malcolm getting onto her, telling her it was almost midnight and why was she out that late and what would Mom say when she found out. But Annabeth didn't care. She fell asleep happy. Percy did that to her. And she didn't care at all.

**Wow. I hated that. In my opinion, Percy and Annabeth were OOC. The plotline made a lot more sense in my head. And I hated the ending. I would go on, but it's past midnight and I've been walking all day. So I'm a little tired. **

**I'm sorry if a lot of stuff didn't make sense. Just wrote it real quick so that I could get it out to you guys. And the monster scene was pretty stinky too. Sorry to disappoint you guys!**

**Please review. Tell me if you loved it(which is probably unlikely) or hated it(I'd understand if you told me that). Also, tell me if you have an idea I could use. I'm running out of ideas! I have about one more idea, then I'm out of ideas. So please suggest something that I could use!**

**Farewell!**


	7. Interruptions

**Hello, my dear little readers! I am so extemely surprised about how you guys liked the last chapter! I hated it. But, alas, I have written a new chapter for you guys. This is inspired by Taylor Swift's Last Kiss. I was listening to it and this idea popped into my head(I'm going to use your guys' ideas, but I really wanted to do this first. So, yeah.). If anyone can tell me what lines I got this from, you get recognition in the next chapter! And if you are the fiftieth reviewer, you get advertisement for one of your stories in the next five chapters of this story. Btw, for those who read my MoA fanfic, I'm sorry I haven't updated. I'm suffering from writer's block, so it's taking a while to write the next chapter. Sorry! It should be up soon though! And thanks for all of the ideas! **

**If you actually read these author's notes, put, 'That is MAHOGANY!' in your review. Thanks!(I seriously love that line in the Hunger Games!)**

**Disclaimer: I don't own PJO or any other related material. All rights go to Rick Riordan!**

Interruptions

Annabeth hated Percy's interruptions. She would be talking to him and he would just stare at her. As if that wasn't annoying enough, he would go and kiss her while she was in the middle of saying something! And then when he pulled away from her, she would forget what she was talking about. As much as Annabeth liked his kisses, she was a daughter of Athena, and therefore, hated being interrupted.

He first started doing it the night of Goode's Valentine's Day dance. Percy had shown up late to pick her up. "You're late," she'd said when she opened the door. "What happened?" He was in jeans and a green shirt, but they both had rips and his hair was all over the place.

"Tell you in the car," he'd replied calmly, glancing at Annabeth brothers, Bobby and Matthew. Annabeth nodded and got into the car.

"So what did happen?" Annabeth asked again when they were safely in the car and driving.

"Monster attack," Percy said while studying Annabeth's outfit: skinny jeans, teal tanktop, black jacket, black sandals. "You look good."

"Monster attack. Go figure," Annabeth muttered.

Percy looked at her. "What do you mean?"

"It's always us that get attacked. I mean, I'm sure other people get attacked, but not as much as we do. It happens-"

"You're dating the son of one of the Big Three. Of course we're getting attacked. I'm not supposed to be alive."

"-all the time," Annabeth continued, ignoring Percy. "And it's always before something important, like tonight, for instance. Or a date. Or on our way to camp. Or on the last day of school. If we ever got married, I'm sure it'd happen before our wedding! I-"

Percy stopped the car and leaned over. Annabeth only had time to take a quick breath before Percy pressed his lips against hers. When they pulled apart, Percy smiled victoriously. "You were saying about our wedding?"

The second time he did it, was when Annabeth made the mistake of bringing him to Olympus with her. She was in her office standing by an easel, trying as hard as she could to focus on the design she was drawing. Percy was standing so close to her, she could feel his breath against her cheek. "What are you working on?" he asked.

Annabeth took a deep breath and explained. "I'm drawing the design for my mother's temple."

A second after she went back to her design, Percy asked, "What's it going to look like?"

Annabeth took another deep breath, trying to keep herself from screaming at him to leave her alone. "Why don't you look at the design?"

"Because there's nothing on the easel."

Annabeth realized that he was right, there was nothing on the easel. She looked up and glared at Percy. "Maybe there would be if you stopped distracting me!" she snapped.

"Sorry," Percy muttered. He left her alone. Annabeth managed to draw the main layout of the temple before Percy started bothering her again. "This looks like the Parthenon!" he exclaimed, obviously proud of himself for figuring it out.

Annabeth rolled her eyes. "Yes, Percy. The Parthenon inspired this design of my mother's temple. See, there's the statue and the columns..." Annabeth pointed out each thing, while Percy stared at her.

"What?" she asked finally. His staring was starting to make her uncomfortable. "Do I have something on my face?"

"No," Percy said, shaking his head. "You're just beautiful."

Annabeth rolled her eyes again. "Percy, I can't bring you up here with me if you stare at me while I work and then say I'm beautiful. It distracts me. I need to focus. Besides, I'm not pretty, let alone beautiful. If you want to date someone beautiful, go date someone from Aphrodite's cabin. Or-" But Percy cut her off with a kiss. Annabeth rolled her eyes, but eventually closed them and wrapped her arms around Percy's neck. She felt the familiar chills that ran down her back when Percy wrapped his arms around her waist.

When they pulled apart, Percy was smiling. "I don't want to date anyone else but you. And you _are_ beautiful, so don't try to deny it. You're way more beautiful than any of the Aphrodite girls." Annabeth smiled and gave him another kiss.

The third time Percy so rudely interrupted her, was aboard the Argo ll, when they were sailing to Rome. It was just Percy and Annabeth in the kitchen that morning. Everyone else was still asleep. Annabeth was looking at maps, trying to figure out the best route to get to Rome. Percy was supposed to be sitting quietly next to her. He had all ready given up on trying to help her. "What do you want to eat?" Percy asked.

Annabeth looked up from the maps and saw that Percy was standing at the counter, two bowls in front of him. He was pouring Cocoa Crispies in one bowl. Annabeth smiled. "Cinnamon Toast Crunch, please."

"Milk?"

"Yeah." Annabeth went back to the maps. Percy sat back down next to her and slid over a bowl of cereal. "Here you go."

"Thanks. Hey, do you think it'd be faster to fly over Europe or sail around to Italy?"

Percy laughed. "I'm the son of Poseidon, Annabeth. You know what I'm gonna say. Sailing, of course!"

Annabeth nodded. "Yeah. Sailing could be faster, since we have Percy." She was muttering now, not really talking to Percy. "But we also have Jason. But he probably can't-"

Annabeth stopped talking when Percy kissed her. Go figure. She was probably boring him and he wanted her to shut up. When Percy pulled away, Annabeth had completely forgotten what she was doing. "Why'd you do that?" she asked.

"What does it matter which route we take? We have the boat to ourselves right now! We should spend time together before we both die."

"Way to be optimistic, Seaweed Brain," Annabeth replied, smiling. "Okay. You want to go to the deck?"

Percy smiled that smile that said that he won. "I'd love to."

But Annabeth never thought that she would use that kind of interruption on him.

It was Annabeth's twentieth birthday and Percy was taking her out to her favorite pizza place. Annabeth was in her room, checking over her appearance in the mirror. She had chosen her favorite skinny jean capris, a gray tanktop with a white sweater over it, and gray flats. She was wearing the owl necklace Percy had given her for her sixteenth birthday, which was a couple months after his. Her owl earrings matched the necklace perfectly. Annabeth didn't know what she was going to do with her hair, so she just curled it a bit and left it down. She decided that she looked fine for a twenty-year-old.

"Annabeth?"

Annabeth turned around at the sound of her name. Percy was leaning against the doorframe to the door of her bedroom. He was wearing a sea green v-neck shirt and old, worn jeans. He wore a black jacket over his shirt. His hair was as messy as ever. He was staring at Annabeth like she had just dropped from Saturn. "What?" she asked.

"Y-you look great," he stammered.

"Thanks." Annabeth smiled and looked at herself one last time in the mirror. "I'm ready to go. You coming?"

"Uh, yeah." Percy followed Annabeth out the door of her bedroom. She grabbed her bag and keys off of the table in the living room and turned to Percy. "You ready?"

"Yeah. Come on. Oh, and, uh, happy birthday." Percy opened the door of Annabeth's apartment for her and she walked out, Percy following closely behind. Annabeth wondered why Percy was so tense. When they reached the lobby, the doorman smiled. "Hello, Annabeth. Happy birthday."

"Hey, Peyton. How are you?"

"Great. Hey, I was wondering if tomorrow night, you want to go out to dinner with me. You know, just the two of us, eating, have a great time, not a date or anything..."

Annabeth felt Percy's arm curl around her waist and pull her close to him. She could sense Percy's anger and resentment towards Peyton. Annabeth knew he was about to say something he'd regret later. She gave him a kiss on the cheek to calm him down and said, "No thanks, Peyton. I've all ready got a boyfriend." Annabeth gestured to Percy.

Peyton looked at Percy like he just noticed he was there. His eyes narrowed and he glared at Percy. "Oh, that's too bad," Peyton said, still staring at Percy. "Well, when you guys break up, and I know you will, call me. Have a good night."

Annabeth stood there, shocked, but Percy steered her out of the building and towards his car. "What just happened?" she asked when they were in the car.

"That pathetic excuse of a doorman asked you out and you said no and that you had a boyfriend. Then he said that we'll break up and when that happens, you'll go out with him then. What a punk. Thinking that you and I are gonna break up." When Percy said that, he reached over with one hand and grabbed Annabeth's. Annabeth intertwined their fingers and he rubbed his thumb back and forth against her hand. Annabeth smiled at his touch. They rode the rest of the way in silence.

(*********)

"I dare you to put salt in your drink and drink it," Annabeth dared Percy. They were playing Truth or Dare at the pizza place while waiting for their pizza.

"That's too easy," Percy said, while rolling her eyes.

"All of the drink," Annabeth corrected herself.

"Still too easy," Percy said cockily. Annabeth rolled her eyes and watched Percy pour salt into his Coke. She watched as he started drinking it. He made no face and continue drinking. Annabeth laughed out loud when Percy's face went red and he started coughing. "You have to drink the entire drink, Seaweed Brain," she said.

Percy held his nose and continued drinking. When he finished, he grabbed Annabeth's drink and took a sip of her water. "Ahhhh. Much better," he said. Annabeth laughed and took her drink out of her boyfriend's hand. "Okay, my turn." Percy looked at Annabeth mischievously. "You are so gonna get it, Wise Girl."

"Oh, I'm so scared."

"Truth or dare?"

"Dare."

"I dare you to pour salt into _two_ drinks and drink it."

"Okay," Annabeth said. She waved over a waitress and asked for another water. When the waitress returned, Annabeth was completely prepared for this dare. She took the salt and put some in both her drinks. She picked one up, took and deep breath, and chugged the water. Percy watched her in awe as she drank the water without her face turning red. When she put the empty glass down, she smirked at Percy and picked up the next one. She also chugged that one, but it was harder. Her stomach starting churning and she felt her face turn red. Percy got a triumphant look in his eyes. Annabeth did everything she could not to cough up her water. When she finished, she slammed the glass down and started coughing. "You all right?" Percy asked, reaching out his hand.

Annabeth waved it away. "I'm fine. I'm fine. Ugh. Saltwater tastes awful."

Percy smiled. "I know, right? It's disgusting!"

Annabeth laughed. "Okay. Truth or dare?"

"I'm taking truth this time. Just to mix it up." Percy smiled innocently.

Annabeth rolled her eyes. "Uh huh. Did you ever sleep with a teddy bear? Or any stuffed animal?"

Percy blushed, but didn't say anything.

"It's a Truth, Percy. You have to answer truthfully."

Percy looked pained. "Yes," he whispered. "I actually did. His name was Mr. Wuggles Barthelomew."

Annabeth laughed. "Mr. Wuggles Barthelomew?"

Percy looked hurt. "Yes. I was five, okay?"

"How long did you have him?"

Percy picked up and replied while taking a drink. "Percy," Annabeth said. She leaned across the table and put her face near his. "You can tell me. I won't tell anyone."

Percy turned to face her. His face was completely red, embarrassed to be telling his girlfriend this. "I still have him," he whispered. "He is a close family friend. I don't plan on getting rid of him soon."

Annabeth smiled and pulled away from Percy. "Now don't go and make fun of me," Percy said, glaring at her.

"Don't worry, I won't," Annabeth replied, her eyes mischievous.

Percy looked at her. "Really?"

"No," Annabeth said innocently. "I wouldn't think of it. But it'll be great for blackmailing."

Percy looked a bit scared now. "Wait, Annabeth, maybe we should-"

"Anyway, your turn," Annabeth interrupted him. She smiled sweetly at her boyfriend. She loved messing with him.

"Truth or dare?" Percy asked, looking nervous. His hand was in his pocket and his other hand was on the table clenched in a fist. Annabeth gave him a confused look. He just smiled weakly.

"Dare," she said confidently.

Instead of getting a mischievous look in his eyes and telling Annabeth something crazy that she had to do, he got down on one knee in front of her. "Annabeth Chase, we've known each other since we were twelve. I've spent almost half of my life with you and I want to spend the rest of it with you. Now, I'm asking you: will you marry me?" Percy pulled a small box out of his pocket and opened it up. Inside, was a silver ring with a single sparkling diamond.

Annabeth sat there, completely stunned. She had not expected this to happen tonight. The restaurant was completely silent, watching Percy and Annabeth. Annabeth realized that's why Percy seemed so tense tonight. He was planning on asking her to marry him! Percy sat there, watching her. He started twitching and moving around uncomfortably. _This must be so nerve-racking for him_, Annabeth thought.

Percy shifted uncomfortably. "Look, Annabeth, you don't have to say yes if you don't want to. I don't want to force you into something that you don't-" Annabeth slid off her chair and cut Percy off by pressing her lips against his. Percy was stunned for a minute, but Annabeth felt him smile against her lips and kiss her back. She could hear the people cheering for them in the background. Annabeth pulled away and smiled. "Yes," she whispered. Percy smiled and pulled her in for another kiss. She felt Percy slip the ring on her finger and she smiled against his lips. Annabeth decided that sometimes interruptions can be good.

That night, when Percy dropped Annabeth off at her apartment, Annabeth dragged Percy over to Peyton. "Hey, Peyton," she said.

"Hey, Annabeth! How'd your birthday dinner go? Have you and your boyfriend broken up yet? You know, I bet he didn't even get you a present." Peyton talked about Percy like he wasn't even there.

Annabeth felt Percy's grip on her hand tighten. She laughed and said, "No, Percy and I haven't broken up yet. And my birthday dinner went great! And Percy did get me a present! A really awesome one." Annabeth hel up the hand her ring was on. "He asked me to marry him!"

The look on Peyton's face was priceless. His eyes widened and his mouth was in a perfect 'O'. His face was completely red. Almost as red as Percy's when he told Annabeth about Mr. Wuggles Barthelomew. "Oh, he did, didn't he? Well, I'm very happy for you. Take care, will you?"

"Thanks," Annabeth replied, holding in laughter. "You too."

Annabeth turned away, but Peyton grabbed her wrist and whispered in her ear, "When you and Percy divorce, here's my number." Peyton handed Annabeth a small fragment of paper that had numbers scribbled on it sloppily. "Call me and maybe we can go out to dinner or something."

"Thanks," Annabeth replied, trying as hard as she could to hold in her laughter. "But I doubt I'll need it. I'm perfectly happy with Percy and I'm completely sure that we won't get a divorce. So here's the number back." Annabeth but the paper back in his hand. "I won't be needing it. You know, maybe Percy can move in with me when we get married, so we can see you everyday when we leave and come back. Wouldn't that be fun? And we coud stay in touch!"

Peyton looked like that sounded like a terrible idea, but he said, "Sounds like a great idea." Annabeth smiled and walked off with Percy following closely behind.

When they were safely in the elevator, Annabeth leaned against the wall and burst out laughing. "T-that was s-so f-funny!" she stammered out.

"What did he say to you?" Percy asked.

"He told me that when you and I get a divorce, to call him. Then he gave me his number."

Percy laughed. "He never stops trying does he?"

"Nope," Annabeth said. She started laughing again and Percy joined her. The two newly engaged couple laughed until they reached Annabeth's floor.

"You wanna stay for a while?" Annabeth asked Percy as she walked inside her apartment. "We can watch a movie or something."

Percy smiled and walked in. "Sure. What movie do you want to watch?" He kicked off his shoes and sat on the couch.

"What movie do you want to watch?" Annabeth asked from her bedroom. She threw off her shoes and sweater. She grabbed her San Francisco sweatshirt and put it on. She put on her fuzzy gray socks and walked out to the couch where Percy was waiting.

"It's your birthday, Wise Girl," he reminded her. "You choose."

Annabeth rolled her eyes. "Fine." She grabbed her favorite movie, The Hunger Games, off of the shelf and popped it into the DVD player. She walked over to Percy and sat down next to him. He put his arm around her. Annabeth smiled. By the time the movie came on, she had decided that this was by far the best birthday ever.

**Ehhhh, not my best. Oh well. It was better than the last one. **

**If you're the fiftith reviewer, I'll PM you and you can tell me which story you want advertisement for. If it's a guest that doesn't have a story posted on here, I'll recognize you! **

**Please review! Your reviews help me a lot! And you can keep on sending in ideas. The more ideas I have, the longer this story is! So review! Remember to tell me what lines I got this from in Taylor Swift's Last Kiss. And if you read the author's note above, remember to put, 'That is MAHOGANY!' in your review. Thanks! **

**Good-bye, my dear little readers!**

**"With God on our side like this, how can we lose? If God didn't hesitate to put everything on the line for us, embracing our condition and exposing Himself to the worst by sending His own Son, is there anything else He wouldn't gladly and freely do for us? And who would dare tangle God by messing with one of God's chosen? Who would dare even point a finger? The One who died for us-who was raised to life for us!-is in the presence of God at this very moment, sticking up for us. Do you think anyone is going to be able to drive a wedge between us and Christ's love for us? There is no way! Not trouble, not hatred, not hunger, not homelessness, not bullying threats, not backstabbing, not even the worst sins listed in Scripture:**

They kill us in cold blood because they hate you.  
We're sitting ducks; they pick us off one by one.

**None of this fazes us because Jesus loves us. I'm absolutely convinced that nothing-nothing living or dead, angelic or demonic, today or tomorrow, high or low, thinkable or unthinkable-absolutely **_**nothing**_** can get inbetween us and God's love because of the way that Jesus our Master has embraced us." Romans 8:31-39**

**(Whewww! That was a long one!)  
**


	8. Laughter

**Hey! The idea for this chapter came from -Xx. I really liked it, so I decided to use it! Thank you!**

**Okay, so the fiftieth reviewer was...Guest! Thanks for being the fiftieth reviewer! You're awesome! You win...a batch of cookies! Wait. Sorry. I ate them all. Oops.;)**

**Disclaimer: Rick Riordan and I went head-to-head in a Rock, Paper, Scissors match. He won. So he still owns the rights to PJO. Which means that I don't.**

Laughter

Annabeth's POV

"No," Annabeth replied firmly to Zack's, son of Demeter's, question. They were walking towards the rock wall. Annabeth could smell the smoke from the lava, the lava that she wanted to grab a handful of and throw it in Zack's pretty little face. He'd been following her around since lunch, pestering her about going out with him.

"But you broke up with Percy," Zack whined. "So why can't you go out with me now?"

"I just came out of a relationship," Annabeth said as calmly as she could. "I'm not ready to just hop into another one."

"But I would never just dump you like Percy did!" Zack went on. "Please just give me a chance."

Annabeth stopped in the middle of the trail towards the rock wall. Busy demigods ran all around her, trying to get to where they needed to be for training. Some gave her the evil eye for blocking the path, some gave her sympathetic looks. She had just broken up with Percy a couple weeks ago. She never knew that she'd have this many people bothering her, asking to go out with her. And it was all the new campers bothering her, the ones who hadn't been there before Percy and Annabeth started dating. She sighed and looked straight into Zack's electric green eyes. "No, Zack. No. I'm not going to go jumping into another relationship like this. So that's my final answer. No. So may you please stop bothering me about it?" Annabeth stalked off, leaving a stunned Zack behind her.

(*********)

_Clang._

Annabeth hit the sword out of Hunter's, son of Hermes, hands. He threw his hands up in the air as Annabeth dug the tip of her blade underneath his chin. Her hair whipped her face, and she was breathing heavily. Hunter was one of the best fighters at camp. Not as good as Percy or Annabeth, but good. Annabeth's gut wrenched. She missed Percy. If she could just hold out a bit longer...

"I believe," Annabeth said slowly, "I win."

Hunter laughed and his brown eyes twinkled. His dark hair whipped around in the wind. He was kind of good-looking. But not like Percy...

"Here you go," Annabeth said as she handed him his sword. She attached her knife back to her belt and was about to walk away when Hunter said, "Wait."

Annabeth cringed and turned around. She knew where this was headed and it wasn't going to be pretty. "Yes? I've gotta go soon, so please hurry."

"It won't take long. I just need to ask you something," Hunter said. He fingered his sword's hilt nervously. "I can walk you to your cabin, if you need to go."

"Annabeth groaned inwardly. "Sure," she said. "I'd like that." Hunter smiled and walked next to her.

"So," Annabeth said, "what do you need to talk to me about?"

"Ah, yes," Hunter said. "I wanted to know, uh, if you, um, wanted to maybe go, ah, to dinner or something? You know, now that you got rid of that pathetic excuse of a demigod, Percy."

Annabeth tried really hard to keep herself from punching Hunter in the face. Who did he think he was? If anyone was a pathetic excuse of a demigod, it was him. Annabeth smiled sweetly. "Thank you for the offer. But I'm going to have to decline."

Hunter stopped. The gleam in his eyes disappeared and was replaced with a hint of confusion. "W-what? Why?"

Annabeth rolled her eyes. She guessed Hunter wasn't used to being rejected. "I'm not ready to get myself into another relationship right now."

"But I'd be a good boyfriend!" Hunter protested. His face was red and he was wringing his hands together nervously.

"I'm sorry," Annabeth said, suppressing a smile. Hunter was starting to crack her up, he was trying so hard.

"Annabeth, just give me a chance," Hunter whined. Then he straightened as he said, "I'd be a much better boyfriend than that no-good brat, who calls himself the son of the sea god."

Annabeth's eyes narrowed and she glared at Hunter. He was going to regret saying that. "What did you just say?"

Hunter backed away nervously. "Um, uh..."

Annabeth realized she could have some fun with this. She pulled out her knife and started cleaning the blade. She saw fear creep into Hunter's usually bright eyes. "You're going to regret saying that," Annabeth said darkly.

"I'm sorry," Hunter tried to apologize.

"You know," Annabeth said, holding her knife up, "just because Percy and I broke up, doesn't mean we're not friends anymore. I can tell him that you called him no good and a brat. Do you think he'd be happy to hear that?"

Hunter shook his head quickly.

"Then I'd suggest that you run along and not bother me again about going out with you. Then Maybe I'd reconsider telling Percy what you said about him." Hunter nodded earnestly and ran off. When he was out of sight, Annabeth started laughing. Man, was Hunter gullable. Like she would ever still be friends with Percy after they broke up.

Annabeth walked the rest of the way to her cabin, still giggling. When she reached the circle of cabins, she spotted Percy walking out of the Poseidon cabin. She immediately stopped giggling as want took over. Percy was wearing his camp shirt and jeans, his hair flopping in his face. He wore bronze armor over his clothes and Riptide was uncapped and in a sheath. That's how Percy liked to have it when he was at camp. Annabeth caught his eye as he passed her. She almost started laughing again when she saw a hint of mischief mixed in with the sea green coloring. Annabeth suspected she had a hint of it in her eyes too.

Annabeth walked into her cabin to get ready for dinner.

(*********)

Percy's POV

As Percy headed towards the sword arena to get in some practice before dinner, he spotted Annabeth by her cabin. He made sure to make eye contact with her as he passed. Her eyes gleamed of mischief and, was that...want? Percy couldn't blame her. He wanted her back too. Every since he and Annabeth broke up, girls had been all over him. They were everywhere: at the stables, at the archery range, in the dining pavilion, at the infirmary. Percy could barely go anywhere without some girl trying to get his attention. It was really annoying.

As soon as Percy entered the sword arena, he was welcomed by a big mass of black fur. Percy laughed and rubbed the hellhound's belly. "Hey, Mrs. O'Leary. How are you doing?"

He was answered with a big lick.

When he finally got away from Mrs. O'Leary, Percy surveyed the arena. There wasn't anyone there, much to Percy's relief. Finally, he could practice without some girl interrupting him. Percy drew Riptide out of his sheath, and started hacking at some straw dummy. He practiced for about an hour, the sun beating down on him. He could feel beads of sweat dripping down his back, his face. He didn't notice he had company, until he thrust his sword through the dummy's straw chest and turned to get a drink of water.

Someone started clapping from the stands. Percy whirled around to face his viewer. A girl around Percy's age sat in the front row, right next to the front enterance. She had long, glossy black hair, which she often curled into perfect ringlets. Her skin was practically brown, she was so tan. And her eyes were beautiful. They were a sparkling purple, always shining and gleaming. _Kiera Jones,_ Percy thought. _Daughter of Aphrodite._

"Hey," Kiera said. "You're really good." She gestured to the dummy.

"Thanks," Percy said, throwing on his most convincing smile. He was inwardly groaning. Another girl he had to put up with. "So why are you here?"

"I was just walking by when I heard you practicing," Kiera said. "So I thought I'd come and watch."

Percy nodded and put his sword up. "Well, I'm done. You can go now. Dinner should be starting soon."

Kiera said, "I know. I wanted to talk to you."

_Oh, great, _Percy thought. _Here we go again._

"I was wondering if you wanted to go to dinner or a movie sometime? You know, since you and Annabeth broke up and all." Kiera was off of the bleachers and slowly making her way towards Percy.

Percy shook his head. "No thanks. I'm trying to stay out of relationships for a while."

Kiera nodded. "I understand."

Percy sighed. "Sorry. I just-"

"You don't want your heart broken again," Kiera interrupted him. "Don't worry, Percy. I would never do that. I'm not like Annabeth."

_You got that right,_ Percy thought, backing away. Kiera was getting uncomfortably close.

"No, I don't think you understand," Percy explained. "I'm not going out with anybody. And I won't be for a while. So it's no use pressuring me. Go back to your cabin. The answer is no."

Kiera seemed a bit surprised by Percy's outburst. "Whatever," she said, flipping her hair over her shoulder. "In a few days, you'll be on your knees, begging for me." With that, Kiera turned around and stalked off. Percy watched her go, confused. Girls can be so confusing, and...cofident. It's scary how confident they can be sometimes. Percy shook his head and gathered his things. Then he headed off to his cabin to wash up before dinner.

(*********)

Annabeth's POV

Dinner was noisy. Everyone was talking, probably about Percy and her, based on the glances Annabeth was getting. She looked over to the Poseidon table. Percy was calmly eating his dinner. His green eyes darted around the pavilion staring at everyone. His eyes sparkled a bit when he spotted Annabeth. He slowly held up five fingers. Then three. Then he made a circle with his hand. Annabeth quickly looked away, but she had gotten his message. More whisperes sprouted, probably about what Percy had meant.

Time passed by slowly. Annabeth watched the minute hand on my watch as she ate. Her little sister, Madaline tried to bring her into the conversation, by asking her questions. Annabeth would politely answer whatever question she was asked and would go back to staring at her watch. Finally, Madaline gave up and turned her back to Annabeth. Annabeth sighed and looked around. A lot of people were still looking at her. She sighed to herself. Soon this would all be over. Annabeth checked her watch again. The little hand was pointed on the five. The big hand was pointed on the six. 5:30. Annabeth smiled to herself and glanced at Percy. He was looking at her too. He nodded, picked up his tray, and headed towards the trashcan. Annabeth took one last bite of her food, got up, and followed Percy.

Along the way, an Aphrodite kid winked at her. Annabeth glared at him, then looked to see if Percy had noticed. He was standing at the trashcan, and, judging from his expression he had noticed. He saw the annoyed look on Annabeth's face, and obviously couldn't help himself. Percy started laughing, his face bright and his white teeth showing. The whole camp was silent, watching Percy. He was clutching his stomach, he was laughing so hard. It was actually pretty funny. Annabeth tried her hardest not to grin, to stay angry, but she couldn't help herself. Plus, she knew _why_ Percy was laughing, the real reason. And it was pretty funny.

Before she knew it, Annabeth was laughing alongside Percy. They were both laughing, Percy a bit harder than Annabeth, but still. Everyone in the dining pavilion stared at them like they were some sort of exotic creature who just dropped out of the sky. When Percy and Annabeth finally managed to calm down, Percy wiping tears from his eyes, Annabeth still smiling, someone said in a small voice say, "Um, what exactly were you guys laughing about?"

Percy looked at Annabeth and smiled. She smiled back and nodded. "We didn't break up," Percy said calmly, still smiling. The pavilion was so quiet, you could hear a pin drop. Everyone stared at Percy and her, with blank, confused expressions on their faces. Even Chiron looked confused.

"Yes, you did," someone from the Aphrodite cabin said. Annabeth spotted a beautiful girl with long. black hair and startling purple eyes. She recogonized her as Kiera Jones, the one girl who was worse than Drew. She terrorized everyone, and when they didn't do what she wanted, she threatened them and sometimes, even punished them. She either gave them a permanent bad make-over, that didn't where off for days or curse them. Guys would go around and hit on every girl the saw, and the girls vice-versa. Annabeth remembered when Kiera cursed Connor Stoll. He had come up her and said, "If you were a booger, I'd pick you first." Percy had taught him to never hit on his girlfriend again. But Kiera was, actually, surprisingly nice to her siblings.

"We heard you guys fighting and saw Annabeth storm out of the Poseidon cabin," Kiera continued.

"It was all a ploy," Annabeth explained. "We never actually broke up."

"Why?" someone from the Athena table asked.

Annabeth glanced at Percy and was swept back into a flashback.

(*********)

_Annabeth walked into the Poseidon cabin, determined to tell Percy what had been bothering her. He knew something was wrong with his girlfriend and kept pestering her about it, but Annabeth would always put it off, saying she'd explain it later. Toady, she was going to be brave and tell him._

_"Percy?" Annabeth knocked on the door. _

_"Come in," Percy called. Annabeth walked into the cabin. Percy was seated on the couch in front of the TV, his fingers flying over the controller, as he tried to beat his game. He paused it and turned around. "Hey, Annabeth."_

_"Hey, Perce." Annabeth sat next to him on the couch. She looked around the cabin. The beds were all on one side of the room, perfectly made. Except for one. Percy's sheets and blankets were strewn over the bed. Clothing and a backpack were thrown carelessly onto the bed and pieces of armor lay by the door. On the other side of the room, was a 36" flat screen TV, and an Xbox 360, which Percy was playing. The blue couch sat parallel from the TV and a coffee table sat in front of it. A small crystal fountain stood over by the door, bubbling happily. Percy had talked his dad into getting him a new one when he destroyed the last fountain the night before their quest into the Labyrinth. A dresser stood against the wall, between the couch and the fountain. A small trashcan stood next to it. Some thing in the trashcan caught Annabeth's eye._

_"Percy," she asked, "why is there a box of chocolates in your trashcan?"_

_"Hm?" Percy said, pausing the game again and glancing at the trashcan. "Oh, Tracy from Aphrodite put those on the porch with note saying that she was available. I laughed and threw the note away."_

_"You tasted the chocolates, didn't you?" Annabeth accused._

_"Maybe," Percy said sheepishly. "But it was chocolate! And I'm a growing boy! How can you blame me? Besides, they weren't that good anyway." Percy wrapped an arm around her. _

_Annabeth sighed and pushed his arm off. Percy looked at her, confused as to why she was acting like this. "Annabeth, is something wrong?"_

_Annabeth squeezed her hands together. "Percy," she began nervously, "why me?"_

_Percy was clearly confused. "Uh, what are you talking about?"_

_"Why did you chose me? Out of all the beautiful, smart, talented girls at camp, why did you choose me to be your girfriend?"_

_"Annabeth, I-"_

_"I mean, I don't deserve you," Annabeth continued, not giving Percy a chance to speak. "There are girls out there who are braver and stronger than me. A much more suitable match for you. And-"_

_"Annabeth," Percy said firmly. Annabeth stopped talking and looked at him. "You think you don't deserve me?" Percy said. "If anything I don't deserve you! You are the most beautiful, smart, fun girl in the world. You could do way better than me."_

_Annabeth blinked, She hadn't been expecting that. "You seriously think that?" she said. "Percy, if we broke up, girls would be on their knees, begging for you to date them. I know that for a fact."_

_Percy snorted. "Yeah, right. If we broke up, guys would be all over you, asking you out left and right. The only reason their holding back is because you're dating me."_

_Annabeth looked at him. "I highly doubt that would happen. You're just saying that because you're my boyfriend."_

_"That's the honest truth," Percy argued._

_Annabeth glared at him. Then, she smiled mischievously. "I know what we should do."_

_"What?" Percy asked._

_"You say that if we broke up, every guy would be on his knees for me. I say the same thing, but vice-versa. So we break up."_

_"What?!"_

_Annabeth laughed. "Not literally, Seaweed Brain. We pretend to break up. That way, we'll see who's right."_

_Percy nodded, relieved. "So we're not breaking up? Just pretending to?"_

_"Yes," Annabeth confirmed. _

_"Okay," Percy said. "Let's do it. Um, how exactly are we breaking up? And how long?"_

_Annabth thought for a minute. "I guess we could do it the old fashioned way. We get into a fight and break up. As for how long, I don't know. I guess until we find out who was right."_

_Percy nodded. "Sounds good. How about we 'break up' tomorrow? Before dinner? That we have about a day to spend together before we, 'break up.'" Percy made quotes in the air with his fingers when he said 'break up.' _

_Annabeth laughed. "Sounds good." _

_Percy picked up a controller. "Wanna play?" he asked in a persuasive tone. _

_Annabeth smiled at him evilly. "You are so going to lose."_

(*********)

"That part," Annabeth replied to the Athena kid's question, "remains a mystery." When everyone groaned, Annabeth and Percy exchanged smiles.

"So you two never broke up?" Zack asked.

Annabeth smirked at him. "Nope."

"Which reminds me," Percy said, wrapping an arm around Annabeth's waist. "Don't ever hit on my girlfriend again." He pointed a glare at Zack and every other boy who had asked Annabeth out. Annabeth did the same to the girls.

The camp was silent, soaking in Percy and Annabeth's surprise. The newer campers all seemed disappointed, but the older campers who knew Percy and Annabeth before were smiling happily. They seemed glad that the couple hadn't actually broken up. Annabeth was happy about that too.

Eventually, everyone started talking again, ignoring Percy and Annabeth. Percy held out his hand and said, "Would you care to accompany me on a walk on the beach, milady?"

Annabeth rolled her eyes, but took his hand. "I'd be delighted to," she said as she intertwined their fingers. Percy squeezed her hand as they walked towards the sandy shore. Annabeth almost jumped with joy. She had missed the feeling of the his fingers, rough and callused from years of sword fighting, tangled with her soft, slender ones. She missed the warmth that entered her body when Percy rubbed his thumb back and forth on the back of her hand. She missed the way she would lean into him as they walked and Percy wouldn't complain.

But when Percy pulled her in and kissed her on the beach, she realized the one thing she had missed the most about him in their time apart: the way Percy could make her forget everything she had ever known just by pressing his lips up against hers. She loved the way his lips moved in perfect sync with hers, how a spark ignited wherever he touched her, how she felt like flames were spreading through her body. And she absolutely loved it. Even though it had only been a few weeks that they had to act like they had broken up, it made Annabeth realize how much she appreciated having Percy. Him being at the Roman camp was nothing compared to this. At least when he was missing, she didn't have to see him everyday, a constant reminder of what wasn't hers anymore.

Percy pulled apart to take a breath, but Annabeth's hand still rested on his neck. She pulled him in for another kiss, her hand gripping the back of his head now, her fingers entangled in his hair. Percy hands stayed around Annabeth's waist, but they tightened in a protective hold. Annabeth's heart quickened.

"Percy," she said after they stopped kissing to take a breath, "I win. Girls were all over you when we supposedly broke up."

"Then I win also," Percy replied. "Guys were on their knees, begging for you."

Annabeth rolled her eyes. "Whatever. We both win."

Percy hugged her. "Let's never do that again, okay?"

"Do what?"

"Break up. That was awful. I missed you. Worst two weeks of my life."

Annabeth smiled. "I completely agree with you." Percy took her hand and together, they walked down the shoreline, finally back together.

**Ehhh, stinky ending, not my best work. But that's all the criticism I'm going to give myself! **

**Review! Please! **

**Sorry, about the title. I couldn't think of one. **

**"When life is heavy and hard to take, go off by yourself. Enter the silence. Bow in prayer. Don't ask questions; wait for hope to appear. Don't run from trouble. ake it on full-face. The 'worst' is never the worst." Lamentations 3:28-30**

**"I called out Your Name, O God, called from the bottom of the pit. You listened when I called out, 'Don't shut Your ears! Get me out of here! Save me!' You came close when I called out. You said, 'It's going to be all right.'" Lamentations 3:55-57**


	9. Mine

**Hey! This is inspired by Taylor Swift's Mine(as you can probably tell from the title). It's probably going to be extremely cheesy, so beware. Oh! And Percy and Annabeth are married. **

**I posted a new story. It's called Intertwined. It's a PJO/Hunger Games crossover. Go check it out!**

**I won't be updating as often. I really want to focus on my other stories. So don't expect regular updates.**

**Disclaimer: I don't own PJO. A nice man named Rick Riordan does. I also don't own Mine by Taylor Swift.**

Mine

"Where were you?" Annabeth asked her husband, Percy Jackson, as he took off his coat and hung it on the rack. It was 2:30 in the morning, and Annabeth had been up worrying about where her husband had gone. She crossed her arms and glared at him, waiting for his answer. Percy held up his left arm. A long cut ran from his elbow to his palm.

"Percy!" Annabeth exclaimed, gently taking his arm so she could examine it. "What happened?"

"I'll explain later," Percy moaned. "It hurts." Annabeth lead him over to the kitchen where they kept their ambrosia and nectar. She set Percy down at the bar and got a cup of nectar for him, while he moaned about how much it hurt. Annabeth rolled her eyes. Percy was such a complainer.

"Here," Annabeth said while setting the cup down. Percy picked it up with his right hand and drank. As he chugged, the cut started to get smaller and smaller until it was gone. "Much better," he said, setting the glass down. Annabeth rolled her eyes and put the glass in the dishwasher.

"You still haven't answered my question," Annabeth said, sitting back down next to Percy. "Where were you?"

"Um, oh the stars are really pretty tonight," Percy stalled, walking over to the window.

"Percy! It's 2:30 in the morning! Where. Were. You," Annabeth demanded.

"I might've, uh, gone on a small, ah hem, um, quest for Chiron," Percy said quietly. He glanced at Annabeth, waiting for her to explode on him.

"What!" Annabeth yelled. She glared at Percy. "Percy, where exactly did you go?"

"The Underwold," Percy whispered.

Annabethh had still heard him. "Perseus Jackson! I cannot believe you did that? Do you know how dangerous that was? You could've been stuck down there! Then what would I do?"

"I had Nico with me," Percy argued.

"That doesn't make it any different! Hades doesn't always listen to his son! And Nico's still young, still trying to figure out how to use his powers. Ugh, Percy, I can't believe you did this!"

Percy looked at her. "Why couldn't I? I am twenty-three years old. I don't need you telling me what I can and can't do. I can go on a quest if I want to."

Now it was Annabeth's turn to look at him. "You don't understand, Percy. I was worried. I called your cell and you didn't pick up. I called your work and they said you left around lunchtime. I called your mom, and she said you weren't there. What was I supposed to do? What would do if I had disappeared?"

"I wouldn't have worried!" Percy shouted.

Annabeth stared at him, stunned. "W-what? You wouldn't have worried? Percy, I'm your wife! You should be worried!"

"Annabeth, I didn't mean it like that," Percy tried.

"I don't care how you meant it! You still said it." Annabeth sat down on the stool by the bar.

"Annabeth, I'm sorry," Percy tried again, sitting down next to Annabeth and putting his arm around her. Annabeth brushed it off.

"Percy, don't even try. You have way to much to apologize for," Annabeth muttered bitterly.

"Oh yeah?" Percy asked defensively. He jumped up, challenging her. "Like what?"

"You're never home, for one. Always working late or at camp. And you never listen to me. I'll tell you to grab something your the way home and you never do. You don't understand how annoying that is. And you're late for everything. Dinners, parties, work. It's so frustrating!"

"Well, at least I'm not a neat freak. And I don't get onto you for every mistake you make. And I'm not a smartalic**(I have no idea how you spell that.)**. I don't correct everything you say. I don't make you watch boring documentries, when you'd rather be watching some action movie. And at least I don't cry at night over some guy who betrayed you and died nearly seven years ago!"

Annabeth's jaw dropped. She felt tears forming in her eyes. If only Percy knew why she cried at night. "Luke would've treated me better than this."

"So you wish he was alive instead of me?"

Annabeth heard the venom in Percy's voice and she shivered. "What do you mean?"

"Choose between Luke or me." Percy looked at her expectantly. His jaw was set and his eyes were full of hurt and anger. Annabeth stared at him. She had never seen Percy so angry before.

"I-I can't. You know that. You both mean a lot to me."

"Choose, Annabeth."

"I can't! I'm sorry!" Annabeth started crying. Percy's face softened and he seemed to realize what he had done.

"Annabeth, I'm so sorry," he said, sitting down next to her. He tried to wrap his arms around her, but she hit him.

"Just leave me alone!" she yelled as she ran out the door, not even glancing back.

(*********)

Annabeth stood in the alley next to her apartment building. It was snowing and she was freezing, but Annabeth didn't care. Percy's words repeated in her head, like a scratched CD.

_Choose between Luke or me._

Annabeth started crying again. Percy was wrong about her crying at night because of Luke. She would cry because of nightmares of having to choose between the two of them. She would have to choose which one to save and which one she would leave to die. The pain on both boys' faces was so real and intense, it hurt Annabeth so much. She loved both of them, just in different ways. She loved Luke as a brother. She loved Percy, well, because he was her husband.

Annabeth shivered. She thought about going back up and grabbing a blanket and a cup of hot chocolate, but then she'd have to face Percy again. Annabeth didn't think she could do that.

"Annabeth." Annabeth glanced behind her. Percy was standing there, a heartbroken look on his face.

"Go away," Annabeth told Percy, wiping tears from her eyes. She tried to hide her shivering, but she couldn't. "I don't want to hear anything you have to say right now."

"Annabeth, please listen to me," Percy pleaded. He grabbed her arm and twirled her around to face him. She twisted her head away from him, but Percy grabbed her chin and forced her to look him in the eye.

"Leave me alone," Annabeth said firmly. She fought against Percy, but he was too strong for her.

"I will never leave you alone, Annabeth. Everytime I look into your eyes, I see that little girl that nursed me back to health after the Minotaur attack. The girl who stood by me on every quest we embarked on, every war we fought in. The girl I fell in love with. I didn't mean a word I said tonight. And I'm so sorry about making you choose between Luke or me. I know how much he meant to you and how much it hurts you to talk about him. I was being stupid and mean and I promise I will never do that to you again. And I promise to be home more often. It hurts to be away from you. I promise to always pick things up when you ask me too and to be on time for everything. Because, Annabeth Jackson, you are absolutely, by far, the best thing that has ever been mine."

Annabeth smiled. Her eyes were gleaming and she threw herself at Percy, wrapping her arms and legs around him. Percy laughed and hugged her tightly. "I love you so much, Seaweed Brain," Annabeth whispered in his ear. "And I'm also sorry about everything. I didn't mean any of it. And I totally choose you. I should've said it in the beginning, but Percy, you are way better than Luke. You've always been there for me. You never abandoned me or betrayed me. You stayed by my side through the good times and bad. And, gods, I love you so much for it." Annabeth pulled away from his ear and crashed her lips against his.

Annabeth pulled away breathing heavily. Percy was grinning, just like he always was after Annabeth kissed him. She shivered and leaned into Percy's chest. "Oh!" he exclaimed, pulling away. "Here you go." Percy wrapped a soft, warm blanket around Annabeth, and she sighed.

"Thanks, Seaweed Brain," she said, smiling. She leaned back into him and he wrapped an arm around her. "And I really am sorry."

"It's fine, Annabeth. I know you didn't mean any of it. Do you want to go back home and I can make you some hot chocolate? Then we can go to sleep."

Annabeth laughed. This was Percy's way of apologizing, she guessed. "Sure. That'd be great."

"Then tomorrow night, I'll take you out to dinner. And I'll be on time." Percy winked at her.

"That would be awesome." Percy kept his arm around her as they walked out of the alley and into the apartment building. Annabeth smirked at Peyton, their doorman, as they passed. Peyton had been Annabeth's doorman before she married Percy and he moved in with her. He had always flirted with her, even when Percy was there with her. After they got married, Peyton backed off, but he would occasionally wink at Annabeth, or tell her that when they got divorced, he was available. Annabeth would just roll her eyes and make some smart comment and walk away.

Percy unlocked the door to their aparment and made a beeline for the kitchen. "Go on and change, Wise Girl. I'll make some hot chocolate."

"I was planning on it, Seaweed Brain," Annabeth called. She walked into their bedroom and quickly changed into her favorite pajama bottoms and Percy's favorite shirt. It read: _Come to the dark side. We have cookies._ Annabeth always wore Percy's shirts to bed or when she was sick. It made her feel closer to him.

Annabeth walked out of the bedroom and into the kitchen. Percy was sitting on the couch, watching some shark show that he liked on Discovery Channel. A steaming mug was in his hand and another sat on the coffee table. Annabeth plopped down next to him. "Is that for me?" she asked, pointing to the mug on the table.

"Yups," Percy said, grabbing it off the table and handing it to her. "Be careful. It's really hot." He noticed what she was wearing. "Nice shirt."

"Thanks," Annabeth said. "What are you watching?"

"Oh, we can change it if you want," Percy said, grabbing at the remote. "This is just some show about shark attacks. I like hearing the motives the sharks have."

Annabeth laughed. "No, we can watch this. I don't want to force you to watch some, 'boring documentary'." She smiled sweetly at him.

Percy shrugged. "Whatever you say." He went back to watching his show. Annabeth leaned ino him and layed her head on his shoulder. She took a sip of her hot drink and felt the warmth run through her body. The next thing she knew, the cup had been drained and she was sound asleep in Percy's lap.

**Ehhh, I didn't like where that ended. Oh well.**

**So like I said, I won't update as often anymore. I need to focus on my MoA story and my Intertwined story. Which you guys should totally check out! **

**"Do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God? You are not your own; you were bought at a price. Therefore, honor God with your body." 1 Corinthians 6:19-20**


	10. All Too Well Part One

**Hey! I'm back! I'm so sorry for that incredibly long hiatus. I really didn't mean for it to be that long, but it was. So feel free to come after me with pitchforks and torches. I know I deserve it.**

**But I'm back now! Yippee! Merry Christmas! Here's a present for you all! It's a couple of days late, but whatever. It's still a present. **

**So this chapter is probably going to be a two-shot. Yes, it's inspired by Taylor Swift's All Too Well, but there's, like, two things in here that relate to the song. And there's MoA spoilers! **

**Disclaimer: I'm not Rick Riordan! **

All Too Well

Annabeth

I slam the door of my family's house as hard as I can. I have to get out. I can't stand to be around my stepmom anymore. She thought I couldn't hear, that I was somewhere else, doing something else. Her words to my father still ring in my ear, repeating over and over like a scratched CD.

_She needs to leave, Fredrick. I can't keep my kids safe from all the monsters with Annabeth around. She has to go. _

She had talked about me like I was some troublemaker dog they had taken in that she wanted gone. Please. If anyone was the dog, she was.

But what bothers me most is that my dad didn't even argue. He just stayed silent and stared at the ground. He didn't even offer up a word of protest, or say, "She's my daughter. You can't do that." What kind of father is that, that won't stand up for his kid?

I'm never going back into that house. I run, run to a place I haven't been to in the past six months, a place that will remind me of horrible losses and heart-wrenching memories. But it's the only place I can think of that will provide comfort.

I run to the beach.

I broke up with Percy six months ago. I can still remember the look on his face when I told him we couldn't be together. It was a look of complete heart break. I remember the way he nodded, as if he understood and walked off. I remember watching him walk away, forcing myself to stay and not run up to him, wrap my arms around him, and apologize. Ever since the breakup, I haven't been able to visit the ocean. The salty smell would remind me of hugging him. The sand squishing between my toes would remind me of the days when we would chase each other like little kids on the beach at Camp Half-Blood. And the wind would remind me of snuggling up close to Percy when I was cold, of the long nights in Tartarus when it would get freezing and we were locked together, trying to get warm.

I reach the beach. Not many people are here, probably since it's mid-February and the wind is awful. I take off my shoes, trudge down to the shoreline, and plop down on the sand. The waves slam onto the shore, creating a loud, but soothing sound. The wind blows against me, blowing my hair back and tickling my face. I close my eyes and savor this moment, wiping my mind of anything else: my stepmom, Percy, my pitiful life. It's at times like these when I like to forget everything and enjoy a moment of peace.

When I open my eyes, a couple is walking hand-in-hand across the sand. The girl bends down and throws sand at the guy. The girl starts laughing while the guy stares at her in shock. The guy grabs some sand and throws it at the girl. Soon, they have a whole sand war on their hands. I smile. Percy and I did something like that, not long before we broke up...

Before I can stop myself, I'm pulled into a painful flashback.

OoOoOoOoOoOoO

_"How do you even know how to work that thing?" Percy asks as I turn on the oven. We're at his family's apartment while Sally and Paul were at a meeting with Sally's editor. Percy was complaining about being bored, so we decided to bake some homemade cookies._

_I roll my eyes. "Perce, can you grab your mom's recipe?"_

_Percy grabs his mom's recipe book and starts flipping through the recipes. "No matter how many times I tell her," he mutters. "she still won't write in Greek."_

_I laugh. "She's not fluent, Seaweed Brain."_

_"But still..."_

_Percy watches me as I put the ingredients in a bowl. His green eyes shine playfully, attracting mine to them. He stands close behind me, his breaths tickling my neck. I shiver involuntarily. _

_"You like this, Wise Girl?" he asks cheekily. _

_"Shut up, Percy," I say. "Pass me the flour, please."_

_Percy walks over to the flour, which sits on the counter by the sink. I start mixing the ingredients I have so far in the bowl and think about how I never got to do this at my home. My stepmom treated me like I had some horrible disease (Which, to her, being a demigod probably was a horrible disease.) and never let her kids or herself come near me. And my father was always too busy with work to spend any time with his daughter. One day, I decided to make some homemade cookies for my stepmom to maybe get her to like me (Because in my seven-year-old mind, cookies solved everything.). A dracaenae appeared and during the fight we destroyed the kitchen. When my stepmom came in and saw the mess, she started screaming at me about how I was a horrible little girl and that her kids could've gotten hurt, and how I better learn to behave better or she's going to send me to boarding school. I ended up having to spend the night cleaning up. Two days later, I ran away. _

_I'm thinking about this when I feel something cold and crummy hit my back. I whirl around and see Percy holding the flour bag with a mischievous look on his face. I notice that his hand is covered in flour and realize that that's what hit me a few seconds before. _

_"Why did you just throw flour at me?" I ask, faking being angry. _

_Percy face turns from mischievous to fearful in a split second. "I, uh, just thought that maybe we could, you know, have a little fun? This cookie-baking is really boring."_

_I glare at Percy, an idea forming in my mind. I move my left hand towards the bowl with the ingredients in it. I grip the handle of the spatula as I say to Percy, "Boring? I think it's fun. I've never got to bake cookies with anyone before. We've always got store-bought ones."_

_Percy's expression changes. "Really? I'm sorry, Annabeth. It's just, my mom always-"_

_Percy's interrupted when I take the spatula and flick it at him. I begin laughing as he stands there looking shocked. "Hey!" he says after he got over his shock. He stares down at his green t-shirt, which now has a big blob of a mix of egg, butter, sugar, and baking soda. "Hey!" he exclaimed. "You just ruined my new shirt!"_

_I smirk at my boyfriend. "And I care why? You did the same thing to me."_

_Percy looks horrified. "It was flour, not everything!" I just grin at him until he grins back. An uneasy feeling boils in the pit of my stomach. That look is never good._

_Percy reaches into the bowl and takes a big handful of cookie dough and throws it at me. It hit my torso and splatters into my curls. _

_"Now I used everything," Percy taunts in a way a toddler would. "What are you gonna do about it?"_

_"This." I grab some cookie dough and smash it into his hair. Since it doesn't have flour in it yet, it drips into his green eyes. I laugh at his shocked expression. "What are you gonna do about it?" I mock. _

_Percy takes some dough and smashes it in my hair just like I did his. I gasp and take the bowl and dump it on him before he's stopped laughing. He grins evilly at me. _

_"You shouldn't have done that, Wise Girl," Percy says in a monotone voice to make it sound evil. "You don't know what I'm capable of."_

_"I've seen you in battle," I point out. "I know what you're capable of, and I'm pretty sure I can beat that."_

_Percy charges at me and engulfs me in a hug, smothering me with the cookie dough. I laugh and push him away, throwing some more dough at him. It hits him in the face. I laugh some more._

_"You've got a little something on your face, Seaweed Brain," I notice._

_Percy wipes the dough from his face and throws it at me. It hits me in the face this time and I gasp. It's cold and runny. I take the bag of flour and throw some at him. It settles on all the cookie dough so now Percy looks like a cookie dough ghost. Percy stares down at himself in a daze and then throws flour at me. Soon, we have an all out flour war brewing. _

_Percy crawls behind the island and uses it as a shield from my throws. I stop throwing and keep the flour bag close to me. There's silence on the other side. I shift my weight nervously, wondering what in the world Percy is up to._

_"Percy?" I call out. "Um, what are you doing?"_

_"This," he answers. Something cold and wet hits me and I duck. I sneak a peek at Percy's side of the kitchen and see that he's opened the cabinet under the sink to see the pipes and was using his water powers to spray me with water. I glare at the pipes. How was I supposed to get him back?_

_A lightbulb goes off in me head. I grin and inch my way toward Percy, who's back is to me. Whenever I get right behind him, I tackle him. He gasps in surprise and jumps up, carrying me on his back. He pulls me around and holds me bridal style in his arms. "What were you trying to do?" he demands, still holding me. _

_"Element of surprise," I answer. "Simple battle stragety. I surprise you and take or do whatever I intended to do while you were surprised. I was going to close the cabinet and pour flour on you while you were surprised."_

_"Oh." Percy looks down at me and kisses me on the cheek. "You look cute with flour all over your face."_

_Just then the door to the apartment opened and Sally and Paul walk in. Percy puts me back on my feet right before they look over at us._

_"Hey, Percy, we're back-what in the world happened in here?" Sally stares at the kitchen, which looks like snow has settled over it with all the flour everywhere. Her expression isn't mad, but it isn't happy either. I remember the last time I tried to make cookies and know that I'm going to have to help clean up. _

_"We, uh, had a flour-and-cookie-dough war," Percy answers nervously. "We got a bit carried away."_

_I do a mental face palm. Duh, Seaweed Brain. I think she figured that out. _

_"You two start cleaning this place up," she ordered. "We're going to need it to be clean for tonight's celebration."_

_"What for?" I ask, though I have a sneaking suspicion that I know why we're celebrating._

_Sally smiles and so does Paul. "I got my book published!" _

_Percy and I run over to her to give her a hug, but she stops us before we can reach her. "Kitchen," she orders. "Then get cleaned up. _Then _I'll give you guys hugs."_

OoOoOoOoOoOoO

The couple is out of sight when I'm pulled back to reality. I sigh. Why was I so stupid? Why had I listened to my mother? I loved Percy. I _still_ love Percy. So why had I decided to break off the relationship?

I groan and tuck my head between my knees. I need to calm down. I need to forget about everything, about my family, Percy, the gods, Percy...

I close my eyes and enter into another flashback.

OoOoOoOoOoOoO

_The hardwood floor is cold beneath my feet. I tiptoe silently through the cabin, making sure he doesn't hear me. _

_I spot him scanning the refridgerator for something to eat. I roll my eyes. Of course. He's humming a song as he grabs food for a midnight snack. I see leftover pizza and pie from dinner and decide I better step in._

_"What are you doing, Seaweed Brain?" I ask stepping into the kitchen. _

_Percy whirls around and spots me standing in the doorway. He throws the pizza and pie behind him. "Hey, Wise Girl? What are you doing?"_

_"I asked you first." I cross my arms and lean against the doorframe, staring at him expectantly. _

_Percy gestures to the food around him, knowing he was caught. "Isn't it obvious? I'm having a midnight snack."_

_"More like a midnight meal," I correct, looking at all the food he had set out. "You weren't going to share with me?"_

_Percy grins. "Of course I was."_

_I walk over to the small table and sit down next to my boyfriend. He opens the pizza and digs in. I grab a slice and eat in silence. The waves crashing on the shore echo into the small cabin. I sigh. I love that sound. It reminds me of the days when my dad would take off work and take me to the beach with him. I haven't been to the beach since those days as a little girl. So when Percy and Sally had asked me to go with them to Montauk for a few days, I happily obliged. The best way to erase old memories is to replace them with new ones. _

_"What are you thinking about?" Percy asks me. _

_I smile at him. "My dad. I remember the days that he would take me to the beach with him. It was the only time I really felt like his daughter. Whenever we got home, he would go back to treating me like an outsider. But when we were there, it was like something snapped in him. We would dunk each other in the water, have picnics in the sun. But my favorite part was when he would pick me up and dance with me on the shoreline. I felt like he loved me then. And it was wonderful."_

_Percy watches my face as I talk. His green eyes peer sadly into my grey ones, like he understands my pain. I know that he doesn't. He had a parent growing up that loved him. I had no one. I gaze down at my pizza. Maybe I told him too much. I usually don't tell anyone about those days because I'm afraid that if I share them with anyone, they might dissipate and disappear forever. But Percy opens me up. I can't seem to keep a secret from him._

_"Well," he starts slowly. He gets up and holds out his hand. "I'm not, like, your father or anything, but I think that you'll still enjoy dancing with me."_

_I grin at him and take his hand. He pulls me in close and takes my breath away. I breathe in his scent as we sway, the smell of the saltwater and fish, which isn't too pleasant, but I've come to love it. I close my eyes and bury my head in his chest, blocking out all memories of my father. _

_"So is this as good as dancing with your dad, Wise Girl?" Percy whispers in my ear._

_"Better," I say. "Because I know that you're not going anywhere."_

_Percy leans down and kisses me. I flash back to our first kiss, our first _real_ kiss, under the stars at Camp Half-Blood. I remember the fire that replaced my blood and spread through my veins, raging and burning like poison. I remember the electric shock that hit me when he put his hands around my waist and pulled me closer. The same thing happens here. And I know that he won't get away from me easily. It would take something stronger than the gods to tear us apart._

_When we pull away, Percy whispers, "I love you."_

_It's right then that I know that Percy is so much better than my father. Because even though we had those long, amazing days at the beach, my father never said those three little words to me. No matter how much I felt it, it was never said. _

_I smile. "I love you too."_

OoOoOoOoOoOoO

I lift up my head. Being a daughter of Athena, I remember things really well. But these memories, these precious moments with Percy, are vivid and vibrant. I remember them all too well. They swirl around in my mind like a tornado of memories, spreading down into me, replaying in my mind so clearly and brightly.

I don't realize that I'm crying until I feel something wet hit my arm. I wipe my cheek repeatedly, trying to get rid of the tears, but stop once I realize that more will just keep falling. I let the tears fall down my cheeks freely, not caring who sees me. I've lost everything.

Why did I do it? Why did I break up with Percy? I ask myself that question over and over again. Why?

Because I was scared.

The word _scared_ rattles around in my brain. I have been scared a lot in my life. I'm scared when I leave camp to go home. I'm scared whenever I run into battle. I'm scared whenever I see a spider. I'm scared whenever I'm summoned to Mount Olympus. And I was definitely scared down in Tartarus.

But why? Why was I scared of Percy? Why was I scared of the one thing that kept me going, that kept me sane down in Tartarus, that kept me strong? Maybe it wasn't Percy that I was scared of. Maybe it was the fact that I had let myself open up too much to him. I gave everything I had to him, and that's what scared me. I was afraid of getting hurt again. I had closed up, listened to my mother for once, and broken up with the son of Poseidon.

Why would I do such a terrible thing, not only to myself, but to Percy as well?

"It'll be alright, you know," someone behind me says.

I twist my head back to see an elderly lady standing behind me. She wore jean capris and a light blue sweater. Her white hair was piled up on top of her head, with little curls falling down into her face. Her skin was weathered and worn, like an old jacket. Her eyes are prisms in the light, sparkling all different colors. I could tell she had once been a very beautiful lady.

"Excuse me?" I say.

She gestures to sit down. "May I?"

I nod emptily and she sits down in the sand next to me. She doesn't acknowledge me, just stares out at the ocean. "The ocean is beautiful," she blurts out.

"Um, yeah," I say uneasily.

"But it has many dangers," the old lady continues. "And many people are afraid of what's in it."

I have no idea where she's going with this. I nod and look at the water, which is sparkling in the evening light, and wait for the old lady to continue.

"Sometimes we just have to face our fears and dive into the water," she says. "Don't we?"

I shrug. The logical part of my brain kicks in and starts thinking of different scenarios. Before i can stop myself, I say, "I guess. Or we can stay on the shore and splash around on the shoreline. That way you still get water, but you don't have to go in."

"True," the old lady says, amusement in her voice. The corners of her lips are upturned slightly. "But it is much better to dive in. It's way more exciting and fun. Do you really want to stick with the bare minimum when you can have the complete maximum?"

I still don't know where she's going with this. " I guess," I say slowly.

"You're having boy troubles aren't you?" she asks.

I stare at her. "How did you know?"

"I've spent my life reading people. I could tell from your slumped over figure and tear-stained cheeks that you're sad over a guy."

"Oh."

The old woman's eyes sparkled. "Tell me."

I glance uneasily at her. I don't usually talk to complete strangers about my boy problems. But I've also spent my life reading people, and I can tell that this lady is honestly interested.

I sigh. "Well, there's this guy. His name is Percy..." I begin to tell the old lady about Percy and the build-up to our relationship, how wonderful it was when we finally got together, how awful the break-up was, how I can still remember everything all too well. Turns out the old lady is a great listener. She stared out at her ocean while I told my tale, smiling when I told her about his greatest Seaweed Brain moments, nodding sadly when I told her how we ended. By the time I'm done, I feel as if a 200-pound backpack was just lifted off of my shoulders.

"You want to know what I think?" she asks once I'm finished. I nod and she wacks me on the side of my head.

"What were you thinking?" she asks. "You had an amazing guy in your hands and you threw him away because you were _scared_? What is wrong with you?"

I rub the side of my head. "_Di immortales._..You hit hard!"

She smiled sympathetically at me. "Sorry. Sweetie, once you fall in love, you can't fall out of love. It just doesn't work that way. When you fall in love, you're going to get scared. You've opened up your heart and surrendered to them. You can't just throw it all away because you're afraid of getting hurt again."

I'm silent. She has a point. I kept thinking that if I broke up with Percy, I would eventually get over him. It's been six months, and I haven't gotten over him yet. In fact, I probably love him _more_ now that I realize how much he means to me.

"Love is a battlefield, sweetheart. There's lots of fighting and heartbreak. But just like a battle makes you stronger, so does love. And when you rid yourself completely of it, you're going to get hurt worse than ever before."

It's true. I've never felt this kind of pain before. It's not just emotional heartbreak anymore. It's physical heartbreak. I can feel every piece of my shattered heart break apart and drift away. I stare out at the ocean and think about my friend Piper and how she would've told me the same thing.

That's when I realize something. This lady isn't just any other old lady. I've seen those eyes before...and she's still beautiful even in her old age...

"Aphrodite?"

Aphrodite smiles and presses a finger against my forehead. "Remember when this happened, my dear?"

I'm about to curse her in Greek, but she suddenly swirls and I'm pulled yet again into a flashback.

OoOoOoOoOoOoO

_It's dark and cold. Though we can't see the monsters, we can sense that they're there. The aura of this place is strong and ancient. I don't know how we'll survive. _

_We walk through Tartarus hand-in-hand. We haven't let go of each other since we fell, except to fight monsters, and even then we stayed close by each other. Something in the endless darkness moans and I shiver. _

_"Percy," I whisper, clutching his hand, "how are we going to survive?"_

_Percy stops walking and turns to face me. He tucks a loose strand of hair behind my ear. He looks ghostly and handsome in the little light provided from Riptide. "We'll get out, Annabeth," he promises. "Trust me."_

_"Percy," I say, "let's be logical. We're in _Tartarus_. We have no food, my knife is missing, and we've been down here for three days. We both haven't slept since we got here and I still have a broken ankle. Face it, Percy. We're going to die."_

_There's a wall behind us and Percy sits down against it, dragging me down with him. He wraps an arm around me and I rest my head on his shoulder. "Annabeth," he says, "I don't know how we're going to do it, but I know that we are going to get out. We're Percy Jackson and Annabeth Chase, the saviors of Olympus, the greatest heroes the world has ever known. We've been through way more than any other demigod. We've survived everything the gods, Titans, and Gaea has thrown at us. We can survive Tartarus too. You'll see."_

_I know that Percy's wrong. If the Doors of Death have to be closed from both sides, then someone has to stay in Tartarus. And I have the sneaking suspicion that it will be either Percy or me. _

_"Maybe you're right," I say, not really believing it. "Maybe we can get out. But it won't be easy. We have to fight through Gaea's most powerful forces. And there's only two of us with one weapon."_

_Percy sighs. "We can do it," he reassures. "I know we can."_

_"Percy," I say, letting a little bit of my fear leak into my voice, "what if I lose you along the way? Or if you lose me?"_

_This is my biggest fear. Losing him. Tartarus is full of deadly monsters that even Percy could lose against. And we're going to have to fight them. What if we don't make it?_

_Percy shivers and I know that he's thought of this too. I nestle my head against his chest to give him comfort. "I don't know, Annabeth," he says, defeat in his tone. "All I know is that if I die, I'll die fighting."_

_"But what would happen to me?" I argue. "Assuming I get out alive? How would your death impact me? Percy, I'd be heartbroken. I wouldn't be the same. I don't know how I'd move on."_

_I'm crying now. All the fear and anger and exhaustion all comes out in the form of a single tear. Percy wipes one off of my cheek. "I'll always be there for you. Even in death, I'll still be watching over you, and you'll do the same for me if you die. But that won't happen because we're going to get out. We won't be the same-we'll have seen and experienced to much to go back to the way we were. But we'll have each other, and that's all that matters."_

_I smile. Percy's right. We will get out. We're strong, tough, and determined. I lean up to kiss Percy, a new determination within me. I'm going to get out alive with Percy, no matter what it takes. If that means taking on Gaea in a battle to the death, then bring it on. Because I won't go down without a fight. _

_And judging from the way Percy's holding me, he has that same determination that I do._

_I pull away to catch my breath and Percy grins at me-that same mischievous grin that always gave me an uneasy feeling in the pit of my stomach, but now I find that I share the same grin._

_"Forever and ever, Wise Girl," he whispers in my ear, before pulling me in for another kiss. "To the very end."_

OoOoOoOoOoOoO

I blink open my eyes, not noticing the tears that have welled up in them. "How did you get that memory?" I demand from Aphrodite, who's still in her old lady form. "We were in Tartarus. That's beyond the gods' control."

"I'm the love goddess," Aphrodite says, as if that should explain everything. "It doesn't matter if that was in Tartarus or not. I still saw it."

I wipe a tear off of my cheek. "Why are you even here? You saw how Percy and I ended. There's no going back."

Aphrodite smiles at me. "Annabeth, my dear, there's always a way back. You still love Percy, obviously. He's still in love with you too. While you've been hiding out in California, he's back in New York, depressed and angry. Even though you hurt him, he would still take you back in a heartbeat. And you're hurt too, Annabeth. You need him more than you realize."

"Oh well," I grumble. "Love hurts."

"No," Aphrodite corrects. "Loneliness hurts. Losing a loved one hurts. Letting go from something you need desperately hurts. Everyone confuses these with love. But what people need to realize is that love is the one thing in this world that can cover up all the wounds and scars and can make you feel beautiful again."*

I'm silent. Aphrodite's right, as much as I hate to admit it. The logic is correct. Because whenever I was with Percy, I realize, that wonderful, magical feeling I was feeling was love. But now, after leaving him, all I feel is loneliness, hurt, and anger towards myself.

"So what do I do?" I ask. "He's hurt and probably mad at me. It's not like I can walk up to him and go, 'Hey, Percy. So I know that I kinda abandoned you and left you at the peak of our relationship, but I'm back now, so let's just start right where we left off, okay?'"

"Yes," Aphrodite says, approval in her voice. "That's exactly what you do. You go and get him back. Annabeth, he never stopped loving you, just like you never stopped loving him. I promise you that if you talked to him, he would take you back. In fact, he's contemplating finding you right now."

I perk up. "What? I thought he hated me."

"Well, you were wrong."

My heart rate picks up. I could get Percy back. All I have to do is face him and tell him I'm sorry.

But could I do that?

I've always had a problem with pride. It's my fatal flaw. I never admit that I'm wrong. I know that one day, it could be the end of me, but that doesn't stop me from trying to fix it. It's a part of me, something I can't do anything about.

How can I purposely run back to Percy, knowing that I'll have to do the one thing I can't do? How can I admit that I'm wrong?

It would be better if he didn't still love me. Then I wouldn't be faced with the fact that if I don't apologize, the relationship with the guy I'm in love with will never happen. If he didn't love me, then I would know that whether or not I apologize, it won't affect how he sees me.

But nothing in my life is ever that easy.

OoOoOoOoOoOoO

I run back to my house, a new determination in me. I'm going to get my boyfriend back.

Aphrodite told me that a plane ticket will be on my bed whenever I get home. I leave that evening at five. When I look at my watch, I see that it's three.

I open the front door to my little brothers, Matthew and Bobby.

"Annabeth!" Bobby cries. "Where did you go?"

"Why are your eyes red?" Matthew asks.

I smile at them. "I went to the beach. And now I have to leave for a little while."

"Why?" they both ask in unison.

I smile. "I've got to go and apologize to someone."

"Is it Percy?" Matthew asks. The name sends a bullet through my heart.

"He hasn't been around in a while," Bobby notices. "I miss him."

I look him in the eye and say, "You'll see him soon. I promise." Bobby's eyes brighten up at my promise.

I just hope I can keep it.

I walk towards the stairs, which are next to the kitchen. My stepmom is still in there. Anger surges through me as I remember why I went to the beach in the first place.

"Annabeth?" she calls out nervously. I freeze on the stairs as she appears in the doorway of the kitchen, wringing her hands nervously on the small dish towel. Her brown hair is falling out of it's ponytail and her hazel eyes dart nervously from my face to the stairs to her feet. I would actually think of her as pretty if she hadn't treated me so badly.

"What?" I say, a little more harshly than I probably should have said it. But I don't care. "Where's my dad?"

She bites her lip then says, "He went out to look for you. I just called him and said you were home. Annabeth, I'm so sorry. I didn't mean what I said, and I would take it back if I could-"

"It's fine," I say. "I'm going back to New York now."

"Why?"

I don't mean to, but I glare at the ground. "I'm going to apologize to Percy. Why do you care anyway?" Venom drips from every word. "I'm leaving. Isn't that what you wanted?"

I run up the stairs before I hear her reply.

**Yeah, kind of a weird and awkward ending, but I couldn't think of anything else to write. Next chapter will have more on their breakup and she'll try to get Percy back! Will Annabeth succeed? **

**A couple of notes about this chapter: I really do like Annabeth's stepmom. She seemed really nice when Percy met her in the TC, but for this, it just fit better if she didn't like Annabeth. At the end, I tried to make it seem like she's nice, but it's up to you guys to tell me if it worked or not! And I also tried to put an emphasis on Annabeth's internals battles. Like when she was asking herself why she broke up with Percy, and when she realized that she had to confront Percy and apologize and she was debating whether she could do that or not. Did I capture it good? I wasn't sure.**

***I didn't come up with that on my own. I saw a quote that inspired me to write that. Here's the actual quote: Everyone says that love hurts, but that's not true. Loneliness hurts. Rejection hurts. Losing someone hurts. Everyone confuses these with love, but in reality love is the only thing in this world that covers up all the pain and makes us feel wonderful again. **

**Review!**

**Here's an encouraging quote for you guys:**

**It is our light, not our darkness that most frightens us. Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure. It is our light, not our darkness that most frightens us. We ask ourselves, who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous, talented, and fabulous? Actually, who are you not to be? Your playing small does not serve the world. There's nothing enlightened about shrinking so that other people won't feel insecure around you. We were born to make manifest the glory of God that is within us. It's not just in some of us; it's in everyone. And as we let our own light shine, we unconsciously give other people permission to do the same. As we are liberated from our own fear, our presence automatically liberates others.**

**Try and figure out what that means! **


	11. AN

**Ok, so sorry that this isn't an update, but this is important.**

**I just found out that a new Percy Jackson book is being released in Febuary!**

**It's called Percy Jackson and the Re Issue. Now, I'm just trying to figure out if it's actually a new book, or if it's a new version of an old book. Ya know, since it's called _Re Issue_. But when I went onto Google to see the release date and synopsis, I couldn't find one. All I found was that it's coming out February 7, 2013. Does anyone have any information about it? I'm dying to know. Seriously. Between Percy and Annabeth in Tartarus (which I'm still debating whether to start digging to get them out of not) and now this new book, I'm going to die.**

**So if you have information, please tell me! If you didn't know...SURPRISE!**


	12. All Too Well Part Two

**Hey guys! Here's part two! **

**Real fast before the chapter. You guys will laugh your heads off. So I was reading Rick's blog, and I found this: **

**"I want them to finish one book and long for the next."**

**I started laughing so hard, my sister thought I went insane. Well, he's successfully done that. Yes, Rick, we're longing for the next book. In fact, we're way past longing. We're on the verge of breaking into his house and stealing the next book! So yes, Rick has completed his job. **

**Disclaimer: I don't own Rick Riordan's genius books. If I did, I wouldn't have ended that MOA like that.**

All Too Well Part Two

I haven't been to New York since I broke up with Percy. I had too many memories here. Like that ice cream truck across the street from where I am standing. I smashed a cone in Percy's face when he called me "Annie." And at that vintage store down the street, I bought my prom dress with Percy. And especially at that pizza parlor about a mile away, where Percy and I ate so many times.

Aphrodite told me that Percy works at Starbucks. He's working there right now, serving people cappuccinos and scones. Aphrodite also told me that he gets off in one hour, so to hurry. And that was thirty minutes ago.

Now, I'm standing across the street from Starbucks, the sweet, rich smell of coffee, wafting through the air. I breath it in deeply. The smell of coffee reminds me of those days as a girl when I would sit with my milk and pretend that it was coffee. I would sit next to my dad and mimick him; turn the page in my book as he turns the page in his newspaper, take a drink of milk while he takes a drink of coffee. I smile. I would do anything to get those days back, when life wasn't as complicated as it is now.

I walk across the street to the little cafe, mentally preparing myself for what I was about to do. I constantly remind myself that it was okay if Percy rejected me. I'd be fine. I could go back to California and only go back to New York for camp. I woud forget about Percy and move on. Chances are, I'm going to die sometime in the next few years.

But deep down inside me, I know that if Percy rejected me, I would never recover.

I shake off my nervousness and walk through the front door.

OoOoOoOoOoOoO

Immediately, I'm overwhelmed with the smell of coffee. If I thought it was bad across the street, it's intoxicating over here. Couples sit at small tables, sipping their hot drinks. An elderly couple sit by the window and talk while they wait for their drinks. The old woman reminds me of Aphrodite when she came to me back in California. She has the same friendly aura around her and she has beautiful eyes that shine when she sees the man. I sigh. For as long as I can remember, my dream has always been to grow old.

I look around at all of the employees, searching for Percy. It's busy today, and all the waiters are busy, going to and from every table. I almost lose hope that he's here and leave, until I spot black hair and green eyes. He's working at the counter, getting coffee and cappuccinos for everyone. Two girls my age are talking with him. He says something and the girls laugh a bit too loud, obviously flirting. Percy grins, and my stomach churns with jealousy. I don't even get why I'm jealous. Aphrodite told me that Percy's still in love with me, and since he's a loyal idiot, I shouldn't have anything to be worried about. Still, just seeing him talk to other girls turns on a jealousy that runs rampant inside of me.

I slowly walk over to him, trying to work up the courage to ask for forgiveness and at the same time making sure that Percy doesn't see me yet. He's serving a middle-aged man, but still talking with the girls. He acts so casual, so unaffected, that you wouldn't know that his heart is breaking at first glance. I only know that because of a certain goddess of love.

I sit at a chair near the man Percy's helping and wait to be served. On the outside, I look totally relaxed, but on the inside, I'm a nervous wreck. My heart is pounding and my stomach is churning. I bounce my knee up and down and pull my hoodie closer to my body. My hair is down and when Percy starts walking over to me, I let it fall in my face so that he won't know that it's me.

"Good morning," he says nonchalantly. "What can I get for you?"

"Uh, a small hot chocolate," I say, not looking at him. He turns around to get it ready for me. I study him. His body is still relaxed, so I know that he doesn't know that it's me he's serving. But based on his slightly rigid stance, he's reminded of me, probably because of my hair. I smile to myself. It's ironic.

I take a breath, preparing myself for the second part of my plan. "And," I say quietly, "I would like you to forgive me."

Percy freezes. He stops filling the cup with hot chocolate and turns towards me. His mouth is opened slightly from shock. His green eyes study me, trying to process what I just said. "Well, say something," I say.

The girls frome earlier walk over to me and Percy. "Thanks for the drink, Percy," the brunette says flirtatiously. "It was great, as usual."

Her blonde friend giggles. "Yeah. Thanks."

Percy continues to stare at me.

The two girls notice me sitting there. "Who are you?" the blonde asks. "Why is he staring at you?"

"I'm Annabeth," I say, now realizing why people stereotype blondes as dumb. "I'm Percy's..." I slowly come to a stop. What was I to Percy now? His ex, for sure. But I wouldn't tell these girls that.

"She's my friend, Kassie," Percy tells the blonde. "Meet Annabeth Chase. Annabeth, this is Kassie and Kiera."

The brunette, Kiera, smiles at me, but it doesn't hide the venom in her voice. "Nice to meet you, Annabeth. Well, Percy, Kass and I should get going now. See you later."

"See ya," Percy mutters as the girls leave. His eyes drift back to me, the shock still there. "So what are you doing here?" He starts wiping down the counter as he talks. I try not to stare at the wristband he's wearing. It's blue and has the words "Make A Difference" typed out on it. He got it from a grabber arm game when we went to an arcade. He's worn it everyday since he got it. I thought he got rid of it when we broke up, but apparently not.

"I came here to ask for forgiveness," I say. "I'm really sorry about everything that happened, Percy. I never meant to hurt you."

"Then why did you do it?" he says, the hurt now clear in his face. "If you didn't want to hurt me, than why did you?"

I sigh. "Percy, can we talk after you get off work? You have customers waiting." I point to the people sitting at the counter, waiting to be served.

"Oh, yeah," Percy mutters. "Right."

"And I would like my drink."

Percy finishes filling up my cup with hot chocolate and hands it to me. He leans in and whispers in my ear, "Wait here until I'm done."

His breath tickles my ear and I suppress a shiver. It's been six months since he was this close to me. I don't know how I feel about having him close to me again. "Okay," I whisper back as he leaves to serve the other customers.

While he works, I sip my hot chocolate and think back to a time when Percy was as close to me as he was just a second before.

OoOoOoOoOoOoO

_"Look at that one," I point out. "It's so bright and beautiful."_

_Percy follows my finger to a star on his left. "Yeah," he agrees. "It is pretty."_

_We were driving through the countryside on our way back to camp, but Percy's truck broke down. Neither of us have a way with mechanics, so we called for help, but that help never came. Now, it's 10:00 and we're in the back of the truck, wrapped up in blankets, stargazing._

_"The whole sky is beautiful," I notice. "It's like the gods made it beautiful, just for tonight."_

_"I know what's even more beautiful," Percy whispers in my ear. "You."_

_I roll my eyes. "Percy, you really need to work on your pick-up lines. They are so cheesy."_

_Percy pouts. "Hey, I was just trying to be a good boyfriend."_

_I laugh and bury my face in his chest. "You're already a good boyfriend," I mutter into his shirt. _

_"What was that?" Percy asks, pulling me away from him so he can see my face. "What did you say?"_

_"Nothing," I say, shrugging. _

_"Wise Girl..."_

_"Seaweed Brain..."_

_Percy sighs and lets me lean back against him. He's laying on his back and I'm snuggling up close to him. His arms serve as a shield from the wind for me. I sigh. "How long do you think they'll last?" I ask, my tone serious._

_"What?"_

_"The nightmares," I say, my voice cracking. "How long do you think they'll last?"_

_Half a year ago, Percy and I had fallen into Tartarus and had to fight our way to the Doors of Death. Down there, we were terrified, but it didn't show. We kept going, and acted like it was just another quest that we had to complete. The terror didn't hit us until we got out. We had to stay in the camp infirmary for the first week and a half, sleeping and constantly waking up from nightmares, screaming for each other. The other five from the seven that went on the quest never left our sides during those first few days we were out. Piper and Hazel would talk to me, while I stared at them, my eyes empty and glazed over. Same with Percy. Even after we were well enough to leave the infirmary, we never really got over that experience. The nightmares still haunt me today. _

_Percy takes my hand and intertwines our fingers. I stare at them. "I don't know, Annabeth," he answers. "I still have them every single night. I guess they'll never really leave us."_

_"Great," I say sarcastically. "Thanks for that boost of encouragement."_

_Percy laughs and kisses my head. "We got through Tartarus. We can get through the aftershock too."_

_I smile. Another aftershock from the Tartarus experience was that Percy and I had a very hard time being apart from each other. We had seen too much down there, and realized just how easily we could lose each other. The only time I could really be apart from Percy without going insane from worry was at camp, when I taught mythology classes and Percy taught swordplay. Everywhere else was too hard and we gave up a long time ago. _

_"As long as we're together," I whisper. That line had been the one thing that kept us going down there, the hope that we wouldn't lose each other pushing us. We still say it even now, like it can push us through this hard time like it had last time. _

_Percy sits up, pulling me with him. He tilts my chin up and lightly presses his lips on mine. These kisses, ones where he just lightly brushes his lips against mine, shouldn't even count as kisses. I wrap my arms around Percy's neck and pull him closer, actually _pressing_ my lips against his. Percy chuckles against my lips, but gives in and kisses me back. _

_I pull away, loopy from the kiss. "That," I tease, "was an actual kiss, not just brushing lips against each other."_

_Percy laughs. "Let me practice this new way of kissing."_

_I slap his arm and mutter, "Seaweed Brain." But I happily oblige, yet again pressing my lips against his. _

OoOoOoOoOoOoO

"Annabeth," Percy says, pulling me out of my flashback. "I just clocked out."

I don't say anything. Before I came here, the memories were bad, sharp and clear, but now that I've seen Percy again, they're even worse. Not only can I see them all too well, but it's like I'm there still. I can feel everything too. It scares me. If Percy doesn't take me back, I'm going to be haunted by these memories for the rest of my life.

"Annabeth?" Percy asks, waving a hand in my face. "You okay?"

I blink, my cheeks reddening. "Uh, yeah. I'm fine."

"Good," Percy says. "I'm hungry. What about you?"

I roll my eyes. Of course Percy's hungry. I shrug. "Kinda."

"How about that pizza parlor down the street?"

That's the last place I want to go. Percy and I spent so many nights there, eating pizza, playing truth or dare, dealing with flirty waitresses. I have so many memories from there, and I know that if I go there, they'll all come back to me. So I have no idea what made me go, "Sure."

OoOoOoOoOoOoO

I was right. The place crawls with memories, overwhelming me as much as the smell of coffee did at Starbucks. We sat at that booth when I dared Percy to talk like a baby when he asks for a refill. We were sitting there when he surprised me with the coral pendant for my camp necklace. And we sat at that far table when Peyton, an annoying boy from school, decided that it would be a great idea if he joined us for dinner and flirt with me the entire time, and when the waitress flirted with Percy the whole night in front of me.

We sit at a new table that neither of us have sat at before. I can't help but think that hopefully this table wil have a new memory when we leave-one where I get my boyfriend back. I hope that Percy is hoping the same thing.

We order our drinks and a large pepperoni pizza. I smile slightly. Percy didn't even have to ask what I wanted. He just knew. That's a good start.

"So...," Percy says after the waiter takes our menus. He leaves that sentence unfinished, waiting for me to explain myself.

"Aphrodite came to me," I blurt out, deciding to just come right out with it. "Back in California."

I study Percy's face, looking for any sign of surprise or interest. But he just sits and watches me, waiting for me to continue.

I decide to just tell him the whole story. As I talk about how I overheard my stepmom talking, and how I ran to the beach and was overwhelmed with memories. Even when I told him what Aphrodite told me, Percy's face never changed. But I could tell that inside him, a battle was waging.

"So," I conclude, "that's why I came back." I'm shaking at this point. My heart rate has gone up and my palms are all sweaty. I sit an wait for Percy's reply.

He opens his mouth, but our pizza comes. I mentally curse the gods for making our food come at such a crucial moment. The pizza is hot and billows up steam. Percy takes a slice and puts it on his plate. I do the same.

"Why'd you do it in the first place?" Percy asks, confusion all over his face. "If you were still in love with me, then why did you do it?"

I don't look him in the eye. He asked me this question back at Starbucks, but I'd avoided it by saying that we'll talk after he gets off work. But judging by the look on his face, I don't think I'm going to get out of answering it.

"My mother," I mumble.

Percy's expression hardens. "Annabeth, I don't want to hear it. You're just going to go and blame it on someone else. We both know that if she was pressuring you to break up with me, you wouldn't have done it."

His words cut into my heart, like my knife had cut into Luke during the Titan War. But his words also give me confidence. "No," I say, looking him right in the eye this time. "I'm not blaming it on someone else. It's all my fault. I was the one who listened to my mother. But it was for reasons that you don't know about."

Percy looks at me, surprised and curious. I look into his eyes and I'm dragged back to that day that ruined both of our lives.

OoOoOoOoOoOoO

_It was a beauiful August day, but now it's raining. I usually curse Zeus whenever it rains, but today I am thankful. _

_The raindrops hide my tears. _

_I'm walking home from Olympus after a very long day of overseeing the rebuilding of Olympus. I don't have an umbrella, so the rain soaks through Percy's hoodie and drenches the t-shirt that I'm wearing underneath. My hair is wet and falls in my face. I wrap my arms around me, keeping myself from shivering. _

_Tears slide down my cheeks. I rarely ever cry, but today, I let myself. My heart feels like it's been slowly crumbling and today it all fell apart. My mother's words still echo in my ears._

Annabeth, he's going to hurt you. Soon. The only thing you can do now is to break off the relationship.

_How can Percy hurt me? How can I break up with him? How can I look at him, the boy who got me through almost every battle, internal and external, the boy I'm so completely and utterly in love with, and say that we can't be together? How can I deal with my hurt and see the hurt written all over Percy's face and know that I caused it? How can I watch him walk off, maybe forever, and not run after him?_

_But I know that I have to do it. Truth is, no matter how fearless I may seem, I'm terrified. I get scared when I leave camp, knowing that there's a good chance that I may never come back. I get scared when I run into battle, knowing that these could be the final breaths that I take. A demigod lives in fear. We fight monsters everyday. _

_But this fear is different. Those other fears are fears for my life. This fear is for my heart. I gave Percy everything I have. He knows my deepest secrets. He knows my weak points. He knows my real fears. He could use every single flaw of mine against me. _

_My heart screams that he wouldn't do that. He loves me too much. He's too loyal. But my brain tells me that even though he's loyal, everyone breaks at one point and turns on someone else. For example, even though I'm prideful, even I lose confidence in my work at times. _

_The big question here is, will I break up with Percy? I've been dating him for almost two years now. We've talked about the future like it was going to happen. Like we would never break up or leave each other. We talked about the future like we would survive to get married and have a family. I always believed it too. I always thought that we would survive, get married, and have kids. I thought that eventually, my mother would give up and quit bothering us. _

_I was wrong._

_My mother, Athena, had told me that Percy was going to hurt me. That if I didn't break up with him, he would break my heart. It scares me. I've given my heart to too many people in the past who turned on me- Luke, for example, and my dad. I never thought that Percy would. He was the one who was there for me when they hurt me in the first place. But I can't risk it. There's little left of my heart that's still loving, and if Percy hurt me, that part would turn into what the rest of my heart is: dead._

_So should I risk it?_

_I reach the apartment building where Percy and Sally live. They're letting me stay with them while I attend Goode with Percy for my junior year. Now, after the conversation with my mother, I don't know if I have the courage to face my boyfriend. I brush away some tears and walk inside._

_Nobody in the lobby even shoots me a look, which I'm grateful for. I don't want anyone to see me like this-wet, shivering, and crying. I walk over to the elevator, holding in my tears. When I get inside, I press the 3, lean against the wall, and let out a strangled sob. The elevator stops and the door opens, to reveal a middle-aged woman. I don't even try to put up a front that tells her everything is okay. I just make sure I don't sob and swiftly out the elevator, feeling the woman's sympathetic eyes watch me as I go. _

_I make it to the apartment, run to my room, and collapse on the bed, not caring that I'm still soaked from the rain. I start to cry, all of my fear, hatred, and confusion coming out in the form of a tear. Tears soon turn to sobs and some part of me is thankful that no one's home to see me like this. _

_I don't know how long I was crying, but I soon the sobs turn into silent tears that make their way down my cheeks. I hear someone unlock and open the front door. "Hello?" Percy calls. A whole new emotion washes through me at the sound of his voice. It's like a mixture of happiness, regret, relief, and dread. A sob escapes me and I bury my head in a pillow._

_"Annabeth?" Percy calls worriedly as he makes his way down the hallway and to the small guest room I'm staying in. When he sees me sitting there, soaking wet and crying, he runs over to me and picks me up and holds me in his arms. I start sobbing again. _

_Here I was, all prepared to talk with Percy, and now I'm in his arms, sobbing into his chest. _

_I finally calm myself down. "Sorry," I mutter. "I probably just got the bed and you sopping wet."_

_"Nah," Percy says. "I'm the son of Poseidon, remember? I can't get wet."_

_"Then can you dry the sheets, please?" I joke halfheartedly. "Because I really don't want your mom to kill me."_

_Percy grins. "Already done. Want me to dry you too?"_

_Again, I remember my mother's warning, and I climb out of Percy's lap. "No thanks. I'll just change my clothes."_

_Percy looks confused, but shrugs and says, "Okay. I'll be in the living room."_

_He walks out of the room, leaving me alone. I close the door and take a deep breath. How am I going to do this? I know it's going to break his heart, so how can I purposely go out there and tell him that we can't be together?_

_I decide to stall and take a shower. The hot water feels amazing against my cold skin, and I let out the rest of my tears there, where Percy won't hear me._

_When I get out, I change into sweats and a hoodie and walk out to where Percy is waiting in the living room watching a movie. _

_"Hey, Wise Girl," he says, "wanna watch this movie with me?"_

_He's not going to want to watch a movie with me after this conversation. _

_I take a deep breath and turn off the TV. "Percy, we need to talk," I say. _

_I watch as his face changes as his guard goes up. "Okay," he says. "Shoot."_

_How do you tell someone you're breaking up with them? How do you tell someone that you're scared that they're going to hurt you? I decide to go out and say it. "I-I think we need to break up."_

_Percy's silent. He's completely pokerfaced. He just watches me, a sad and confused look in his eyes. _

_"Did I do something wrong?" he asks._

_The last of my heart that was still standing crumbles. He thinks this is his fault. _

_"No," I say. "It's nothing you did." _Yet,_ I want to add._

_"Then what is it?" he asks, his voice raising with every word. "I thought everything was going great!" _

_The hurt that I was feeling turns into anger. I glare at Percy. "I thought everything was fine too! Until...until..."_

_I can't finish that sentence. Should I tell him?_

_"Until what?"_

_I look at Percy's face. It's so full of anger and hurt, and I realize something. I hurt _him_ instead of the other way around. And Athena knew that this would happen. She set me up by using my fear against me. My eyes widen. _

_Percy notices my wide eyes and shocked expression. "What?" he asks. _

_I sit down. This is all too much. I start taking deep breaths, trying to calm myself. I never thought that she would go this far. I never imagined that she would ruin my relationship._

_Tears start sliding down my face again. "Annabeth?" Percy asks. _

_I ignore him. "Are you happy, Mom?" I snarl. "Is this what you wanted. Well, here you go. I hope you're satisfied."_

_Percy probably thinks that I'm pyscho now, hearing me talk like this. I hear him still asking me if I'm okay, but I block him out. My head is in my hands, and I'm trying to calm myself, gathering my thoughts. Small sobs escape my mouth. My body feels like it's been washed with ice and I keep shivering. My heart feels like it's not there, like it's crumbled into nothing, even though it keeps beating. I feel like I'm dead even though I'm alive. _

_"Annabeth, what's wrong?" Percy asks, exasperated._

_I lift my head out of my hands. "Percy, I'm sorry, but I think it's better if we just end our relationship. I think I'm going to move back to California and go to school there."_

_Percy looks like I just told him that he's been sentenced to the Fields of Punishment. His green eyes swirl with pain, anger, and hurt. But he keeps all that hidden when he realizes that this is hurting me just as much as it's hurting him. _

_"I'm so sorry," I whisper through my tears. _

_Percy watches me with sympathy. Watching him try to be so strong when he's so hurt makes me cry even harder. He opens his arms, and even though I'm breaking up with him, I give in and run up to him. His arms envelope me, and though they usually bring warmth and comfort, now they're cold and tense. I feel like I'm dying. _

_"I-I should go and pack," I say, shuddering at the sound of my own voice. It's cracked and broken. Just like me. _

_Percy nods. "Alright." As I turn away, I hear Percy whisper, "I'm sorry, Annabeth. If I did anything wrong, I'm sorry."_

OoOoOoOoOoOoO

I take a shaky breath, pulling myself out of my flashback. I haven't thought of that night until a week after the break-up, when I broke down and cried all night. After that night, I never thought of that night again. Until today.

"Annabeth?" Percy asks, that same worry that was there that night, returning. "You okay?"

"Uh, yeah," I say. "I was just thinking about something."

Percy leans over, maybe out of habit, and brushes a strand of hair behind my ear. I tense up, and so does he as he realizes what he just did.

"Sorry," he apologizes, rather embarrassed. "Habit, I guess."

I sigh and look Percy straight in the eye. "I need to tell you something," I whisper. "The reason I broke up with you. The real reason."

I tell Percy everything; the conversation with my mother, what I realized she had done, how the break-up affected me. The entire time, Percy watched me with no emotion on his face. The uneasiness in my stomach grew with every word. Maybe I was doing the wrong thing, by coming back. Maybe Aphrodite just wanted some entertainment and decided to play with my emotions. Just the thought of that sends a bitter taste in my mouth.

"So what are you trying to say?" Percy asks once I'm finished.

I think about how I should answer that. I know what I'm trying to say: _I want you back._ But if I just came right out and said that, would he believe me? Would he think I was a freak? Part of me doesn't want to find out the answer.

The waiter comes back and Percy pays. We both get up and walk out. The cold winter air blasts my face and I shiver. I usually love the winter. It brings back memories of days at camp when there were only a handful of us and we would sit and drink hot chocolate in the Big House with Chiron.

We walk to a small park at the end of the street in silence. The trees are bare, but coated with snow. The pond is frozen over and some kids are ice skating on it. I breath in the clean, cold air. This brings back memories of winter days, and walking through Central Park with hot cocoa in one hand and Percy's hand in the other. I shiver again.

"Here," Percy says, handing me his jacket. "Take this."

"Percy, I can't-"

"Just take it, Annabeth. You're cold, and I can tell."

I take the jacket unwillingly, and put it on over my thin hoodie. It instantly warms me up. It smells like Percy too. Yet again, memories of cold nights down in Tartarus, when Percy would hold me until I was warm, and even after I was warm. I smile at the memories, but that smile instantly turns to anger and remorse.

"Why are you being so nice to me?" I demand. "Why aren't you hating me? Percy, I broke your heart! I abandoned you for no reason! How can you still love me after that? It's so annoying! I treated you badly, so why aren't you treating me badly back? Why can't you? Ugh! You're so frustrating!"

Percy laughs. "You, Annabeth Chase, are impossible." He leans in and whispers in my ear, "And I think I've figured out why you came back."

I stop walking and look at him. "And why is that?"

Percy's signature grin, a grin that drives me crazy, spreads on his face. "You came back because you're still in love with me." He leans even closer. "You want to know a secret?"

I look into those beautiful green eyes that I've turned to for comfort for almost seven years now. They sparkle in the February sunlight. "Yes?"

Percy smiles. "I love you too."

Right then, I do the stupidest thing I've ever done in my whole life. I throw myself at Percy and smash my lips against his. He's surprised at first, but eventually gives in. His arms snake around my waist and I shiver. I haven't felt this way for the past six months. It feels like I was deprived from a life-saving medication and was slowly dying. Now that I got it back, it feels like everything is more beautiful and hopeful.

"Annabeth," Percy says when we pull apart. We're walking hand-in-hand through Central Park. I feel so content and happy now that I have Percy back. Aphrodite was right. He does still love me.

"Yeah?"

"Promise me that you'll trust me. You know that I would never do anything to hurt you. So next time something like this happens-"

"Next time?" I joke.

Percy cracks a grin, but it disappears a second later. "Annabeth, I'm serious. You have to trust me. Something like this can't happen again. I can't bear to lose you again."

I smile. "I promise. I'll trust you over anyone else from now on." I kiss him to add an edge to the promise.

"I love you, Wise Girl," Percy whispers. It feels so amazing to hear him call me "Wise Girl" again.

"I love you too, Seaweed Brain."

**Awww! Percabeth prevails! Annabeth succeeded! **

**So I hope you enjoyed that! It took me forever to finish! Review! Or I'm stealing all of your copies of the House of Hades once it comes out! Oh, I'm feeling especially evil today!**

**"If any of you lacks wisdom, he should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to him. But when he asks, he ust believe and not doubt!" James 1:5-6**


	13. As Long As We're Together

**Guys, this one took forever to write. But it was worth it. Becasue I really like this one. **

**Really fast, I have big news! First of all, Rick Riordan wrote a Percy Jackson and Kane Chronicles crossover! Yeah! I read the preview of it (Just Google it of you want the preview) and Percy is about to whip Carter's _podex_! Yeah! Demigod power! I really hope that Annabeth and Sadie are in it. Sadie's my favorite character in the KC and if Annabeth is in it, Percabeth! **

**And guess what?! The HoH comes out October 8! I don't know what to do with life until then. You know, I'm sure if I had a social life, this wouldn't be a big deal right now, but I don't, so I don't know what to do until then. Oh my. Books are going to give me a heart attack one day. **

**Anyway, enjoy this chapter! It's a HoH one-shot, so don't read this if you haven't read the MOA! MAJOR SPOILERS!**

**Disclaimer: If I owned PJO, I would probably be attacked by a mob for writing fanfiction instead of writing the actual book. Just saying.**

As Long As We're Together

Annabeth's POV

There was no wind.

It was like being in space. No wind. No noise. Just falling.

Annabeth gripped Percy's hand. Fear was eating on her insides, slowly biting its way to her heart. She could still hear her friends' anguished cries from above. She could feel the pull on her body, pulling her and Percy into Tartarus.

Tartarus, the deepest place in the Underworld. Tartarus, the prison for every killed monster, god, Titan. Tartarus, the location of the Doors of Death. Tartarus, the place where Percy and Annabeth will die.

Annabeth couldn't shake the overwhelming sensation of guilt. This was all her fault. Had she only been smart enough to cut that spider's silk when she saw it and none of this would never have happened. But she was the one stupid enough to have brushed it off like it was nothing. But it was something. That idiotic mistake will most likely cost her her life.

And Percy._ Gods,_ Percy. Annabeth had just pulled him down into this pit of impending doom with her. She had basically confirmed his death in this war. It was all her fault. Of course, Annabeth knew that it wasn't really her fault that Percy was with her. It was his choice, his conscious choice, that cost him this dreadful fall. He was a loyal idiot, and for once it had a deadly result. But if she had cut that silk when she saw it, neither her nor Percy would be here. It all came back to that one mistake. Annabeth's mistake.

Annabeth didn't realize that she was shivering until Percy pulled her towards him. The warmth of his body against hers shielded her from the biting cold of Tartarus. "You okay?" he whispered in her ear.

Annabeth would've laughed, had she not been so terrified then. It was a hopeful question, Annabeth decided, asking if she was okay. Of course she wasn't. She had fought against her worst fear, fallen into the deepest void in the mythological and real world, and, worse of all, dragged her boyfriend with her. Oh yeah. Annabeth was just all sunshine and laughs right now.

Still, she nodded. She needed to stay strong if she was going to get through this. She couldn't sit (or fall, if they're being specific) and feel sorry for herself while there were people up above counting on her to make it to the Doors of Death and stop Gaea.

"I'm fine," Annabeth lied. "What about you?"

Percy chuckled. "Oh, you know, talking with my girlfriend, trying to stop Gaea, falling into an endless void. The usual."

"Totally," Annabeth laughed, trying to cover up the overwhelming sensation of guilt.

"So what do we do now?" Percy asked. "When are we going to stop falling? It's making me dizzy. I have nowhere to set my feet."

"Nine days," Annabeth muttered to herself, her eyes widening.

"What?"

"Nine days. The fall into Tartarus is nine days, or at least from Olympus. It'll probably be a little less for us."

Percy groaned into Annabeth's hair. "We have to fall for nine days? I'm going to die."

Annabeth couldn't help but laugh. "Yeah, the _fall_ is going to kill you, Seaweed Brain."

They were silent for a few minutes, soaking in the perilous situation. Annabeth couldn't believe it. They were falling into Tartarus, the deepest part of the Underworld, a place only one demigod has ever survived. And he was only in there for a few days. Annabeth and Percy would be in there for at least a month. There was very little chance that they would survive.

"I'm so scared," Percy said.

Annabeth looked at him. His face was ashen and ghostly pale in the darkness. His green eyes, usually bright and playful, were dark and dangerous, like the ocean on a stormy day. The muscles in his arms stood out and they were tense around her. She wanted to cry right there. It scared her enough to see Percy like that, but the fear was even worse knowing she had caused that.

"I am too," Annabeth agreed. "But we can do it. We can get through and stop Gaea."

Annabeth was lying snd she knew Percy knew it too. He shook his head. "I'm so stupid."

Annabeth looked at him. Of course, she had joked that Percy's head was filled with kelp for years. But she knew that he really was smart. An oblivious idiot, but smart. Hearing Percy call himself stupid sent a jolt down her spine. "What do you mean?"

"I shouldn't have let you fall. I should've held on long enough for someone to save us. I should've-"

"Stop," Annabeth ordered. "Percy, this isn't your fault at all. It isn't anyone's fault. Someone had to go through Tartarus to get to the Doors of Death. And even if we did try to hold on, no one could've gotten to us in time. Jason couldn't have flew down and carried both of us and Leo couldn't have steered the Argo ll down to us. It isn't your fault. Stop blaming yourself."

"But it is my fault, Annabeth," Percy said sadly. "I let you go because I couldn't have gone on without you."

Annabeth gave him a puzzled look. "What?"

"I let go because if I had let you fall, I couldn't have survived up there. I would've been useless, mourning over you. Even though I would be with five others, it would still feel like I was alone. I need you, Annabeth. Down here, at least I have you with me and neither of us are on our own."

Annabeth was stunned into silence. Percy had fallen because he needed her? She had known that, deep inside. She felt the same way. She couldn't imagine falling alone; just the thought made her shiver in fear. And if it had been the other way around, with Percy falling and Annabeth holding onto him, she would have let go too. She couldn't have gone on without him. But hearing the words come out of Percy's mouth gave them a whole new meaning. He needed her just as much as she needed him.

"That doesn't mean that this is your fault," she decided to say. "It could've happened to anyone. It just happened to be us."

"But I feel like a coward," Percy continued, his voice shaking. "I was _scared_, Annabeth. I was scared to go on without you. I didn't know what to do."

Annabeth decided to joke. "You never know what to do, Seaweed Brain."

Percy shook his head. "This was different. Normally, there's always a part of me that knows what to do, I just never realize it in time. But today, when you were dangling from my hand, something in me snapped. I couldn't imagine letting you fall and I couldn't even begin to comprehend what I would be like if I did. So I fell with you instead. I fell from all of my problems and fears. I fell with you."

Annabeth buried her face in his chest and breathed in, trying to calm Percy and herself. He was scaring her. She had never seen him like this. Even in the worst of times, he would joke around or have everyone look on the bright side of the situation. Sure, he blamed himself for things, but never like this. He was giving himself the blame for things that weren't even remotely close to being his fault. It scared Annabeth. When demigods started acting like this, they ususally started doing drastic things that end up killing them. Luke had become bitter right before he turned to Kronos's side. Ethan Nakamura was bitter before he even considered turning over to Kronos. Annabeth took a shaky breath as she remembered the bitter faces of the demigods on the Titans' side during the second Titan War.

Percy's arms tightened around her. She felt the need to say something comforting and encouraging to him, maybe make another joke to get him back to his old self. But she didn't know what to say. She was afraid that there was nothing she could say or do, except let him hold her. He was right. At least they had each other. Annabeth couldn't imagine being down here by herself.

"Annabeth?" Percy whispered in her ear. "You okay?"

Annabeth lifted her face out of his chest. She looked at him, taking in his pale, defeated face, and dirt-streaked hair. She looked into his eyes and saw that beneath the fear and guilt and terror, she saw courage and determination. And she knew exactly what to say. "You think you're a coward, but you're not," she said slowly. "It takes a lot of strength to fall into Tartarus, Percy. And you might think that you're a coward, that you fell with me because you were too scared to go on without me, but you didn't. It takes more courage to fall than to hold on. Besides, Percy, you saved me. If I had fallen alone, I wouldn't have made it to the Doors of Death. Now that you're here, we might actually have a chance of beating Gaea."

She looked at Percy, hoping that her speech had worked. She saw that his eyes had lighten up a bit, but he still had a sullen look on his face. "Thank you," she said, putting as much emotion as she could muster behind it. "At least if I fall, I won't fall alone. Thank you for being _my_ hero."

Percy lips upturned slightly. Part of Annabeth's heart soared, seeing that smile again. The other part ached to see it fully.

She smiled at him and gently brushed her lips against his. She knew that drove him crazy. It drove her crazy too. She always longed for more, the feeling of his lips fully on hers. In this case, she hoped it would work in her favor. She did it once more for effect.

It worked. The second time she did it, Percy kept his lips on Annabeth's.

Annabeth was the first to pull away. Her heart soared and butterflies erupted in her stomach when she saw Percy's brilliant smile. It stirred something inside of her. If Percy and her could find something to smile about down here in Tartarus, then maybe they had a chance. A very small, nearly impossible chance, but it was still a chance. And that was enough to push Annabeth on.

"So nine days," Percy said, changing the subject. "We're going to be falling for nine days."

Annabeth nodded. "At least we'll be able to rest before we fight for our lives for a month. I don't think we'll be able to squeeze in a nap between fighting monsters and looking for the Doors."

Percy yawned. "Yeah. I haven't had a good night's rest in forever."

Annabeth nodded. "Me neither." It was true. Ever since Percy had disappeared, her nights had been plagued with nightmares and visions. The only night she had truly slept well was that night in the stables on the Argo ll. It seemed like ages ago.

"Get some rest," Percy ordered. "You're probably exhausted. You know, after fighting Arachne and all."

Annabeth nodded and rested her head back on Percy's chest. She knew she needed sleep but she didn't feel tired. In fact, her fear of what was to come was keeping her wide awake. But the sound of Percy's beating heart, and the gentle rise and fall of his chest with every breath he took soothed her and she slowly faded away.

OoOoOoOoOoOoO

"Annabeth," Percy said gently, "wake up. I can see the bottom."

Annabeth's eyes blinked open. At first, she couldn't see anything. A panic began to rise up inside her and she tensed. She felt like everything was out of her control. That something was going to jump out at her any second.

But then her eyes adjusted. She saw Percy's green eyes peering worriedly into hers. They were speckled with fear. She glanced down and saw that he was right. She saw the ground that they were moving rapidly towards and the panic took over her again. They were going to crash.

Judging from how fast they were moving, she had a couple of minutes before they hit the ground. Annabeth tried to think through her panic. The only thing that got through to her mind was the fact that if they had been falling for nine days, they would die on impact.

But this was Tartarus, a mythological, not entirely physical place. She wasn't sure if impact would kill them or not.

They kept falling. Annabeth's panic built up with every second that passed. She felt Percy tense up also. Just a minute before they hit the ground, an idea came to her.

"Percy," she said, "let go of me."

Percy looked at her, puzzled. "What? Annabeth, if I let go of you, you could land somewhere really far from me and we might not be able to find each other."

The were only a few feet away from the ground now. "Just let go of me!" Annabeth yelled at him desperately. Percy's arms loosened around her and she flew away from him. She only had a second to look at his terrified eyes before she hit the ground.

All Annabeth knew was pain. It rolled through her in waves, making her vision go red. Her head throbbed and it felt like a thousand needles were poking the back of her nose. She tried to inhale, but she couldn't. She gasped for air, forgetting all of the lessons she'd had at camp for getting your breath back. She was dying.

"Annabeth!" she heard Percy call. He sounded like he was miles away, though she knew it was only a few feet. How could he be fine when she was out of breath and in pain? Did she land wrong or something?

She heard Percy crawl over to her. Annabeth glanced at him, her eyes wide trying to send him a message. His eyes swept over her body before he said, "Sit still. You'll get your breath back if you do."

Annabeth was on the verge of passing out, but she did what she was told. Percy was right. After a few seconds, air entered her lungs again. It was foul and stagnant, but Annabeth didn't care. It was air. But now that she could breath again, the pain hit her like a brick wall. Her head was throbbing and her torso hurt from the fall, but something down by her feet felt like it was being ripped off. Stars danced across her vision. She let out a sob.

"Oh, gods," Percy muttered to himself. "Her ankle."

Annabeth's eyes widened. She had fallen on her broken ankle. She would've cursed had she not been in so much pain.

"What do we do?" she muttered, her words barely intelligible.

"I don't know." Percy shrugged. "Do I do that thing where you pop it back into place?"

Annabeth shuddered, issuing a new wave of pain. "No," she said. "Not with a broken ankle. Just wrap it up."

"In what?"

"Find something," she said. "And hurry."

Five minutes later, Annabeth's ankle was wrapped up in a piece of Percy's shirt, free from spider silk also. She took in her surroundings to distract her from the pain. Tartarus was nothing like Annabeth had pictured. Her and Percy were standing on a stone island. Surrounding their island was darkness. When she looked over the edge, she couldn't see anything. She could only hear things. She heard churning sounds, moans, and gurgles. Annabeth figured there was some sort of river or lake down there.

Up on the island, Annabeth noticed that it wasn't really an island. It was more of a long strip of stone. It continued on and on, widening and shrinking as far as Annabeth could see. Rocks as big as boulders crowded parts of it. Annabeth's ankle throbbed as she realized that her and Percy would have to climb over them.

There was a dim light shining through the pit. Annabeth had no idea where it was coming from. It couldn't be coming from above. They were too far down. A strange, smoky mist was settled by the ground, giving the place an eery look. Annabeth saw no signs of monsters, but she knew that they were somewhere. She could sense them all around her, hidden in the shadows.

Percy plopped down next to Annabeth. They were leaning against a small boulder, just a few feet away from where they had landed. He pointed down at her ankle. "Is it feeling okay?" he asked.

Annabeth nodded. "Yes," she said quietly.

"Can you walk?" he asked.

Annabeth flexed her ankle. Pain flared through her, spotting her vision. Still she said, "Maybe."

Percy helped her up, wrapping an arm around her waist. Annabeth leaned against him as they walked. They trudged along loudly, muttering curses in Greek. At one point, they stumbled and Annabeth had fallen towards the edge, but Percy grabbed her wrist before she could fall. Annabeth had twisted her broken ankle as she tripped. She gasped and suppressed a sob, her eyes tightly shut. She didn't know how she could do this. Being down here was bad enough, but being down here with a broken ankle made her question whether or not the gods was on their side. Annabeth wished she had the curse of Achilles.

When Annabeth was back upright with Percy's arm wound tightly around her waist, he dug into his pockets and brought out a square of ambrosia. "Here," he said. "Eat this. It'll hopefully heal your ankle enough to walk."

Annabeth stared at the square, then up at her boyfriend. "No," she decided. "I can't. We're going to need that for food later on. We can't waste it on my ankle."

"Annabeth," Percy cried, "you are not going to be very useful if you have a broken ankle. You can't walk on it, much less run and fight with it. You have to eat this. For me."

Annabeth glared at him before she took it and stuffed it in her mouth. It tasted like Sally's chocolate chip cookies, fresh out of the oven. Annabeth closed her eyes, savoring the taste, then swallowed. She grinned. She knew she had spent too much time with Percy and his family if ambrosia started tasting like Sally's cookies.

But the ambrosia did what it had been intended to do. Relief flooded through Annabeth as the godly food began to heal her ankle. It felt like a hot iron pole had just been taken out of it. She let out a relieved sigh and leaned into Percy, letting herself bask in the relief that the ambrosia had brought.

"Better?" Percy asked, grinning.

"Oh, yeah," Annabeth told him. She put part of her weight on her ankle. It hurt, but only for a few seconds. She took a few steps, testing it out. She felt like Ariel, from the Little Mermaid, testing out her new legs. It was a ridiculous feeling.

"Come on," Percy said. Annabeth felt a hand rest on the small of her back. "We need to keep moving. Maybe it'll prevent some attacks."

"Or maybe we're walking straight towards them," Annabeth whispered. But they continued anyways.

OoOoOoOoOoOoO

Annabeth didn't know how long had passed when they came upon her backpack.

They had been walking for a few hours. It was completely silent except for the sound of rushing water down below them and the occasional, "You okay?" or, "Let's stop for a few minutes." They stopped to catch their breath a lot, mainly because of Annabeth's ankle, but only for a few minutes. They climbed over rocks and found places that were slick with water. Not once were they attacked.

"Why do you think that?" Percy asked her. They had been walking for about an hour in total silence, and Annabeth found it nice to hear his voice again, not just his echoing footsteps. "Why the monsters aren't attacking us."

Annabeth thought about it. She knew the monsters were there. She could feel them, feel their eyes watching her every move. Why weren't they attacking? Two powerful demigods, strolling through Tartarus, with only one weapon. During the fall, Annabeth had figured that they would be attacked every few minutes. They would rarely get any time to rest. Having not been attacked for hours was surprising.

"I don't know," she answered. "Maybe we landed in a part where not a lot of monsters are?"

"Annabeth, monsters are _everywhere._"

She stopped walking a turned to face Percy. "You can feel them too?" she asked.

Percy nodded. "Yeah. They're all around us. Everywhere I turn, I feel them, their eyes all on me. It's creepy."

A scary thought came to Annabeth. "Maybe they're waiting to attack," she said, partially to herself.

"Why would they wait? Why not kill us now and be done with it?"

Percy's words sent chills down Annabeth's spine. They could very well do that. It seemed that there was something keeping them from attacking. Annabeth didn't know what it was, and part of her didn't want to know.

"What's that?" Percy asked, pointing a few feet in front of them, where a range of boulders stood. Annabeth followed his finger. She saw something gleaming in the midst of the boulders, shining like a spotlight through the darkness.

Annabeth started moving towards it. "Let's see," she told Percy.

They both moved slowly towards the shining object. Annabeth's heart hammered in her chest. What if it ended up being a monster? The thought made her shiver. A week ago, confronting a monster wouldn't have been a big deal. But now, being in Tartarus, the thought of fighting a monster made Annabeth go weak in the knees. When monsters are killed, they disintegrate and come to Tartarus until they can regenerate and come back to the world. But what would happen if they killed a monster while _in_ Tartarus? Did that mean that it would just keep coming back seconds after it was killed? Would it die for good? Would it be the same as when they were up in the real world? Annabeth might find out right now.

It wasn't a monster. It was a knife.

"My knife!" Annabeth cried, reaching from behind Percy to grab it. It was still in its sheath. She wrapped it around her waist and pulled the knife out. Tartarus seemed to shift in discomfort at the shining Celestial bronze. All of these monsters had been killed one way or another by this type of weapon. They probably weren't too happy to see it again.

Still, having her knife back brightened Annabeth's mood. Now they had two weapons-twice the chance that they had before.

"There's something under here," Percy muttered as he strained to reach his hand into a small crevice nearby where they had found Annabeth's knife. Annabeth's stomach did flip-flops as Percy dug around in there. She had seen so many movies where there were dangerous things in crevices, such as poisonous scorpions, snakes, fire ants, and spiders. Annabeth didn't want Percy to get hurt, especially not now.

He pulled out a small, blue backpack. Annabeth's face broke out into a smile. "Is this yours?" Percy asked, grinning.

Annabeth grabbed it out of his hand. She opened it and sifted through its contents. Yes, everything was still in here. Her laptop, a Ziploc bag full of ambrosia squares, a canteen of nectar, an extra shirt, her phone, an architecture book. Half of the stuff wouldn't be useful at all, but the ambrosia and nectar they needed.

"Thank the gods," Annabeth muttered, bringing out the godly food to show Percy. "I am so glad that Chiron gave us way too much ambrosia and nectar."

"Thank you, Chiron," Percy said, looking up. He put an arm around Annabeth and said, "So what else is in your backpack?"

"Nothing useful," she said. "My laptop, an extra shirt, a book, my phone-"

"We have to get rid of it."

Annabeth looked at Percy. "What?"

"We have to get rid of your phone," he repeated, as if it were the most obvious thing in the world. "It'll set out a signal throughout Tartarus that we're here. We won't be able to hide if we have that."

"Percy, all the monsters already know that we're here," Annabeth pointed out. "Can't you feel them? Having a phone on us won't make a difference."

Percy stared at the ground, taking in what Annabeth had told him. "Okay," he said finally. "But since we're going to keep it, can I call my mom and tell her where we are?"

Annabeth rolled her eyes. "We're in _Tartarus_, Seaweed Brain. I'm pretty sure that there isn't reception down here."

"Oh. Yeah, you're right."

Annabeth smiled at her boyfriend's idiocy. She shook off his arm and instead slipped her fingers through his. "Come on," she said. "Let's keep moving."

They walked in silence. Annabeth kept glancing at Percy. He watched the ground as they walked. His green eyes were as bright as ever, which confused Annabeth. She was sure hers were dark and stormy, just like they always were whenever she was scared or distressed. She didn't understand how Percy's could be so bright in such a dark, scary situation.

But Percy's eyes was the only part of him that was happy and content. The rest of him told without words what he had been through. His Camp Half-Blood shirt was torn at the end from where he had ripped a piece off to wrap up Annabeth's ankle. Blood and dirt had crusted strands of his hair. His face was pale and bloody, his lips chapped. But there was something about him, something that would make you think that he was a god, just like Hazel had when she first saw him. The way he walked with purpose in every stride. The way he gripped Annabeth's hand, not letting her get away. There was an aura of power around him. Annabeth remembered when he was a wimpy little boy, crying because he had lost him mother. That was so long ago. He had changed so much. Most people wouldn't believe her when she told them stories of wimpy Percy. She could hardly believe them herself. But she knew that part of him was still there. She had seen it on the fall down, when he had called himself a coward.

The strange thing was that that was the part of him Annabeth loved the most.

"What are you thinking about?" Percy asked, pulling Annabeth out of her daze. He looked at her with that dopey grin she had come to love.

"Hm?" Annabeth said. "Oh. You."

Immediately, Annabeth blushed beet red. She never let herself think of Percy that way. Not even after they started dating. Sure, the way he looked while swordfighting had flashed through her mind a few times. And his smile that he reserved just for her made her stomach errupt with butterflies. But she always pushed those thoughts away. She didn't want to be _that _girlfriend, the one who was always drooling over her boyfriend. Annabeth had no idea what had made her think just like she had.

"Oh, really?" Percy said, wiggling his eyebrows. "And what were you thinking?"

"How you're an idiot."

"Hey!"

Annabeth laughed, then froze.

"Uh, Annabeth?" Percy asked. "You okay?"

"Shhh," Annabeth whispered. "Did you hear that?"

"Hear what?"

Annabeth heard it again. A small scuttling sound that sent chills down Annabeth's spine. A sound that made Annabeth breathe in short, ragged breaths. A sound that resembled small legs crawling...

"Stop," Annabeth ordered Percy. The couple stopped in their tracks. Annabeth started shaking. Her old fear came tumbling down on her. The monster's last words flashed across her mind:

_If I go to Tartarus, you come too._

Annabeth didn't know if she had the strength to fight this monster again. The first time had taken everything she had out of her. Even after sleeping for nine days, Annabeth didn't have the strength needed to fight her biggest fear.

Still, she drew her knife.

"What is it?" Percy whispered beside her. He got his answer a second after the question came out of his mouth. A giant spider jumped out of a cluster of rocks in front of them. Annabeth screamed and dived to the right, dragging Percy with her. She nearly fell off of the rock, but Percy grabbed her just as she hit the edge. Thankfully, this time he had the strength to pull her up.

They both stood up and drew their weapons, preparing for a fight. Their hands were still clasped together.

"Arachne," Annabeth said, her voice shaking.

"Oh, gods," Percy muttered next to her. "How did you manage to fight her before? I don't have a fear of spiders and even that scares me."

Annabeth was too scared to even roll her eyes at Percy's bluntness. All she knew was that Arachne was the reason all the monsters hadn't attacked them. She had wanted revenge. And it was up to Annabeth to kill her. She took a step forward.

"Annabeth, no," Percy said, tightening his grip on Annabeth's hand. "You're not going alone."

Annabeth looked back at him. "This is my fight, Percy," she told him. "She wants me, not you. It's up to me to defeat her."

Their eyes locked, green on grey. Years' worth of memories flooded into Annabeth, and she knew that Percy wouldn't let her go and fight alone.

"Maybe," he said, "but I'm helping. You're not going to be able to defeat her alone."

Annabeth smiled at him. "Let's go and kill another monster."

And together, they charged.

OoOoOoOoOoOoO

"We meet again, daughter of Athena," Arachne snarled. "I warned you that if I fell, you would come with me. And here we are."

"It doesn't matter where we are," Annabeth snapped back. "I'll still beat you, just as my mother did."

Arachne screamed and jumped out at Annabeth. Annabeth dove out of the way and scrambled to her feet. She saw Percy fighting the spider, sword against legs. It looked like Percy was winning, but Annabeth knew he couldn't keep it up much longer. She needed a plan.

Arachne could only be defeated by trickery. Annabeth specialized in that. She thought hard, scouring everything she knew about the mother of spiders for anything that could help her and Percy defeat her. She knew that Arachne was once an arrogant mortal who thought that she could weave better than Athena. But Annabeth had already used Arachne's pride against her once. She doubted Arachne would fall for it again. Annabeth tried to think of things that got others to do things against their will. If you did somthing to one of his friends, Percy would do things that you want. For Annabeth, if you insulted her, she would do things that you wanted her to do. Maybe in Arachne's case, it could work.

"Your fighting is worse than your weaving, Arachne!" Annabeth yelled at the spider.

Arachne tore her fierce gaze away from Percy and to Annabeth. She screamed at her, "You foolish girl! I am the best weaver in all of Greece! In all of the world!"

"But you lost the contest," Annabeth pointed out.

Arachne shrieked again. "Nonsense! Athena spread that rumor around afterwards. She was just jealous, really."

Annabeth and Arachne circled each other now. Annabeth's heart pounded in her chest. It took every bit of strength left in her not to run or scream for Percy. She clicked her tongue. "Something a jealous, bitter, sore loser would say."

"I won," Arachne protested. "How would you know the truth, anyway, daughter of Athena? You're just a weak halfblood. You know nothing. I won the contest that day."

"And yet here you are as a spider."

Arachne sneered at Annabeth-a horrible, paralyzing smile that showed off her razor-sharp teeth. Fear froze Annabeth again and she couldn't move. The spider moved closer and closer to her, studying her like she would be her next meal. All Annabeth could do was stand and watch with wide, frightful eyes.

Percy yelled at Annabeth, shouting to get her attention. "Annabeth, wake up! She's coming right at you! Kill her!"

Percy charged at Arachne, but the spider was too smart to be caught by surprise. She turned her attention away from Annabeth and to Percy. She met his sword with her legs, which, to Annabeth, seemed indestructible. Percy fought with everything he had, using moves that usually worked with many monsters, faking stabs and thrusts. He looked like a true warrior, like he had been using a sword since he was born. His green eyes shone with intense ferocity and unfailing determination.

But things went downhill quickly. Percy was tiring out. Arachne was closing in on him, pushing him towards the edge. Annabeth realized what she was doing too late.

"Percy!" she screamed. "She's going to push you off!"

Percy glanced at Annabeth. It was that glance that made all the difference. In that moment that he was looking at Annabeth, Arachne put one of her front legs on his chest and pushed him. Percy fell on his back. Riptide fell out of his hand and down into the darkness. Annabeth's heart pounded faster and faster. She prayed to all of the gods that Percy would be safe.

"Die, weak halfblood!" Arachne snarled. Then she pushed Percy a little bit farther and he slipped off of the edge.

Time stopped. Everything slowed. Annabeth's eyes widened as she watched Percy fall off of the land strip and into an unknown darkness. A scream escaped her lips, but Annabeth didn't hear anything. She felt like her heart had been physically ripped out of her chest. She was alone. In a pit full of monsters who wanted to kill her. Annabeth was alone in Tartarus.

"He is dead, child," Arachne's voice whispered over her shoulder. Annabeth was too numb to feel scared. She stared over at where Percy had fallen.

"He can't be dead," she muttered to herself.

"Oh, but he is," Arachne said, scuttling over in front of Annabeth. "He was a worthless, dirty, demigod. Probably won't be missed."

Anger began to replace Annabeth's numbness and fear. She glared at Arachne. "Look who's talking. Nobody cared when you were gone. In fact, everyone was pretty happy. Until you decided to show up again."

Arachne charged, but this time, Annabeth was prepared. She drew her knife and thrusted it at Arachne. The spider stopped short, not wanting to get skewered with the bronze weapon. "He's not dead, Arachne," Annabeth declared. She kept telling herself that too. It seemed like the more she said it, the better chance it was true.

The two fought. Annabeth pushed herself harder than she ever had before. With every stab, thrust, and block, a new surge of adrenaline ran through her. Her hair whipped and she could feel her eyes shining. Percy had called her beautiful many times, but she had never believed it until now.

Annabeth managed to stab Arachne in her abdomen. She smiled. She may be scared to death, but she still might be able to win. Arachne screamed in agony, but quickly recovered. "Nice try, daughter of Athena," she snarled. "But you have not won yet. I am still your biggest fear."

The scuttling sound returned. Annabeth flashed back to those terrifying nights in her bedroom as a little girl, when spiders would come and crawl all over the room. She remembered the paralyzing fear from those spiders. The same fear took her over now. She started trembling.

Small, black spiders crawled towards Annabeth. They swelled into a black ocean of creepy crawlies at her feet. Some began crawling up her legs. Annabeth screamed and started brushing them off. More and more kept climbing up on her. Annabeth fell backwards, screaming and slapping.

Arachne crawled over to her. "Go, my children," she told the eight-legged creatures. "This one is my kill."

The way she said that sent a shiver through Annabeth. She wanted to get back up and fight, but her sudden rush of adrenaline left with the spiders. Annabeth didn't have an ounce of energy left. She couldn't even get up.

Once the spiders were gone, Annabeth realized that she was on the edge of the land strip, the swirling darkness beckoning her. Annabeth debated jumping. Percy was gone anyway, and Annabeth didn't want to give Arachne the satisfaction of killing her. But that was irrational. Annabeth knew her friends were depending on her. She had to get away from Arachne alive. Maybe if she did, she could find a good hiding place and come up with a plan from there. She slowly and shakily got up and drew her knife.

"You can't kill me," she said. She meant for it to come out strong and menacing, but her voice was soft and she was trembling. Not very intimidating.

Arachne laughed. "You really think that you can beat me, child? Look at you. You can hardly stand. You're shaking and you're as white as a ghost. Surrender to me and I will make your death quick and painless, unlike your boyfriend, Peter."

"Percy," Annabeth growled. She gripped the hilt of her knife tighter. She _would_ defeat Arachne. For Percy. She lunged.

Arachne smiled. "Very well," she said and thrust out her two front legs, pushing Annabeth down. Her knife fell out of her hands and slid a few feet away from her. Annabeth reached for it, but Arachne pushed Annabeth again and her head hit the stone.

Everything was spinning. Annabeth gasped for breath. Her head throbbed and her whole body ached. She felt Arachne drag her to the edge and she knew that it was over. Arachne had won. The Doors of Death would never be closed.

Arachne pushed Annabeth halfway over the edge. Her head dangled above the chasm while the rest of her body was underneath Arachne's legs. She heard the sounds of moaning and rushing water. She looked up at Arachne's horrifying face and knew that this was how she would die. She could feel her breath slowing and her eyes were drooping. She waited for the moment when Arachne would throw her off the edge and she would fall into the monster infested water.

_Water._

If Percy had been thrown off of the edge, and into _water_, then he was probably still alive! Hope surged through Annabeth. This wasn't the end. If she could call to Percy, and he could hear her, then he could use the water to wipe out Arachne and save Annabeth...

_But it was monster-infested water._

Percy would've fought a ton of monsters by now, if he really was still alive. Chances were, one of the monsters had killed him by now. Still, Annabeth hoped that the chance that he was alive was true.

"Any last words, daughter of Athena, before you die?" Arachne asked menacingly. Her eyes were dark, basically black. It reminded Annabeth of a demon, which Arachne actually wasn't far from.

"Yes," Annabeth stated. She turned her head slightly to the side and yelled, "Percy, the water!"

Her words echoed throughout Tartarus. She felt all of the monsters stir. Arachne's eyes widened and they both waited.

Rushing water. Moans. Stirring monsters. But no sign of the son of Poseidon.

Annabeth felt like her heart had stopped. Her breath caught and she felt her eyes water.

"Oh, don't cry," Arachne mocked. "Your death was bound to happen sooner or later. Be appreciative that it was me who killed you, not some monster worse than me."

Annabeth spit into the spider's face. "There's no monster worse than you, Arachne," she snarled. "You're evil. You were evil even before you became a monster."

Arachne glared fiercely at Annabeth. "Smart-aleck, aren't you? Well then, good-bye, foolish demig-"

Arachne was interrupted when a roaring wave crashed on top of the two.

Annabeth had never been fond of water. It was Poseidon's territory. Even after she met Percy, she still didn't like it very much. But at that moment, Annabeth couldn't think of a thing better than water.

Arachne screamed. The water had flipped her over, and now she was laying on her back, her eight legs wiggling in the air. Annabeth quickly slipped away. She laid on the ground staring at the rock above, coughing up water and catching her breath. She listened to what was going on around her. She heard Arachne say something unintelligible and say the glint of Percy's sword on the rock above her. Then she heard a bloodcurdling scream, and the familiar sound of crumbling. Then Arachne was gone. Annabeth smiled. She really had won.

"Annabeth!" Percy called. Annabeth looked up to find Percy. Percy was completely dry. His green eyes shone. Annabeth had never been so happy to see him.

She ran straight into his arms. He engulfed her in a big hug and they stayed like that for a few minutes, completely unaware of their surroundings. Annabeth sobbed into his chest, letting out all of her fear and worry in every tear. Percy petted her hair in comfort. The pounding of Percy's heart soothed Annabeth and she soon stopped crying.

"You okay?" Percy asked. Annabeth again found it funny that he asked that question while they were in Tartarus.

"I'm fine," she insisted. "I'm fine."

Percy pulled away from her and looked into her eyes. _How do you really feel_, he asked with his eyes. In response, Annabeth pressed her lips to his. _I'm scared,_ she told him through the kiss. _And I need you more than I ever have right now._

When they pulled apart, Percy answered verbally. "I'll never leave your side."

Annabeth gazed at him, wondering how she, a brainiac daughter of Athena, got Percy Jackson, hero of Olympus. It didn't seem logical.

"What happened?" Percy asked. He kept his arms wrapped around Annabeth, which Annabeth was thankful for. She began to tell him what had taken place after he fell. When she got to the part about the spiders crawling all over her, Percy's arms tightened around her.

"Wow," he said once she finished. "You put up quite a fight."

"Please," Annabeth said, rolling her eyes. "All I did was scream and keep her occupied until you could come back and kill her."

"Still, you fought her and held her off until I could get back up here," Percy pointed out. "You fought against your biggest fear. That's awesome, Annabeth."

"But I didn't-"

"Would you just take the compliment, Wise Girl? Please. For me."

Annabeth rolled her eyes. "Fine. Thank you."

"So what do we do from here?" Percy asked.

Annabeth shrugged. "I don't know. We keep moving, I guess. It's not going to be so peaceful though. I figured out that all of the monsters were holding back on attacks because Arachne wanted to get to us first. She wanted to get to me first." Her voice cracked when she said that last part.

Percy gazed at Annabeth. By the look in his eyes, Annabeth knew what he was going to say next. "I love you, Annabeth Chase," he whispered. "And I will never let another monster scare you like that again."

Annabeth smiled. "I love you too, Percy Jackson," she whispered back.

"And we're going to get out alive."

Annabeth knew that Percy was wrong. At least one of them had to stay. The Doors of Death had to be closed from both sides. Once it was closed, they couldn't get out.

But Annabeth pressed her lips against Percy's anyways. She pulled away and smiled at him. "As long as we're together."

Those five words were an oath. They would stay together. One of them wouldn't die and leave the other. They would fight through Tartarus, through all of the monsters. They would do it together. Because over the past year, they had learned that the most important thing wasn't staying alive. It was that they were together. When Annabeth said those five words, she had said that she wouldn't leave him. And Percy had said the same thing. If they survived, they survived together. If they died, they died together.

As long as they're together.

**So what did you think? Personally, I think this is definitely one of my better pieces. And to me, the fight scene was pretty awesome. For those of you that have read my fight scenes, can agree with me. And I loved the ending. I know right? I actually like an ending? What is this world coming to?**

**So really fast, I have to ask who has read the Legend series by Marie Lu? If you have, have you read Prodigy yet? Well, I started reading it and I kinda skipped to the end. It's a really bad habit of mine to read the last few pages of a book (I didn't do it with the MOA, though). Let's just say that my heart was ripped out of my chest, my soul was crushed, and my body was thrown into Tartarus. That's how bad it was. In my opinion, it was worse than the ending of the MOA. So warning to those of you that are reading it!**

**Farewell! No verse! Sorry!**


	14. Hold On

**Hey, guys! Guess what? I'm alive! I know, right? Shocker! I'm really sorry I haven't updated though. Our wifi was down at my house, so I couldn't update, even though the chapter was ready. **

**So this is another HoH one-shot. As you all know, Rick posted something a long time ago about how the song "Hold On" by Alabama Shakes was appropriate for a Percabeth scene he was writing. Well, since I live under a rock, I only recently saw that, so I listened to the song and wrote this. It didn't turn out the way I wanted it to, but nevertheless, it's a chapter and I felt bad about not updating. So here you go!**

**Oh, and happy Mother's Day!**

**Disclaimer: I don't own PJO. **

Hold On

Annabeth's POV

_"You got to hold on. Yeah, you got to hold on."_

_-"Hold On" by Alabama Shakes_

OoOoOoOoOoOoO

People always try to imagine what the end of the world will be like. They wonder, will it be complete chaos? Will people kill each other in the streets, will there be a scarcity of food, will beasts roam freely, mauling every person in sight? Will someone rise to power and take control of the chaos? Will people go insane daily? Will there be a dictator, taking over every country, every continent?

But I know what it will be like. I'm living in it right now. Hellhounds, dracanae, empousa, scorpions, Cyclopses, telekhines all coming at you everywhere you turn, teeth bared, weapons raised. A smokey screen covers the sky, making it a grayish black. Fire runs rampant through the battlefield, just adding to the scene. Everywhere I look, all I see are more monsters, coming from every direction. Our demigods don't stand a chance. Even now, I can hear them crying out in desperation and pain as the swords are being penetrated through them, ending their short, miserable lives. Every scream sends a stabbing pain to my heart. These kids had lives, friends, people who loved them. And they gave up all of that so that they could participate in stopping Gaea. And the number of dead demigods increases with every minute that passes.

The Seven of the Great Prophecy all fight in a line, pushing through the enemy forces, driving towards the Doors. We seven seem to be the only demigods beating the monsters. Every demonic creature we come across gets immediately turned to dust. We're ruthless demigods that will stop at nothing to do our job.

At least, that's what we look like.

But, in reality, we're exhausted. It's like our energy dissolves with the monsters we kill. I know that soon our energy will run out, and we'll be beaten. But we have to get to the Doors first.

And there's a problem that troubles all of us, one that no one knows how to fix, one that means the death of a friend. Who do we leave behind?

We talk as we fight. Piper uses her charmspeak, saying, "Leave me. It has to be me." But it doesn't work on us. It works on the monsters though, and they leave her alone, so she can easily stab them and turn them to dust. Jason argues, saying that he's a leader and that the leaders are the ones who should put everyone else's safety before their own. Leo says that he should stay behind because he has nothing to come back to. Frank points out that he can morph into an animal and find a way out. Hazel scolds us all, saying that she should stay behind, since she's supposed to be dead anyways.

Percy and I are silent. One glance at him, and I know we're both thinking the same thing: it's going to be one of us. We're the two half-bloods that have had the most experience surviving and fighting. We've already traveled through there, survived everything down there. We would know where to go, maybe how to survive, at least for a little while. We're the best choice.

By some miracle, we fight our way through the last line of enemy forces. With a quick duck and firm stab, the last monster disintegrates before my eyes, and I'm staring at the open Doors.

I can feel the wind from Tartarus blowing, running through my hair like fingers. It sends chills down my spine. I can hear the spirits of the dead, clawing at the ground around the pit, moaning as they climb out and fly away, whispering in my ears as they go and find new hosts. The temple takes my breath away. I've never seen anything quite like this. Hidden to the mortal eye, and made purely out of amethyst, stands a beautiful temple, built for the sole purpose of concealing Tartarus and keeping the dead inside the Underworld. The walls seem to shimmer, reflecting the fire from the battlefield. Columns stand straight in a line, facing each other, forming an aisle, a pathway, to the Doors, slightly cracked enough to serve as a gateway to freedom.

Despite it's horrible purpose, I can't help but be shocked by the intricateness of the Doors of Death. Looming tall and mighty, casting a shadow over everything, they stand, the entrance to the matching amethyst temple, which shelters the large, vast void that leads ultimately to Tartarus. The ancient stones lie in front of the Doors, cracked and mossy. Carvings adorn the Doors, depicting everything you would see in your nightmares. Vicious monsters baring their fangs, people strapped into chairs, being poked with a hot iron pole, their faces in so much pain, you can practically hear their agonized screams. Maimed bodies. Monsters partially hidden in the shadows. There's a photo of a beautiful woman, covered by cloaks made of earth, half risen from the ground. On the ground before her is a substance that looks sickeningly like blood. And a picture that looks like it has been carved recently, showing two teens trudging along in a cavern, hands clasped, bodies pressed tightly together as they walk. I realize, stomach twisting, that it's depicting me and Percy.

The carvings are so real and life-like, I feel as if I'm back in Tartarus, seeing all of the terrors face-to-face, even experiencing some. I hear the moans and screams of prisoners. I feel the claws slicing open my flesh, the poison entering my body, the blood slowly dribbling down my face. Then Percy puts a hand on my shoulder and I'm pulled back into reality, the sounds of the war that is being fought around me coming back.

Piper, Leo, Jason, Hazel, and Frank are arguing about who's going to stay. I look up at Percy. I say in a hoarse, shaky voice, "It's going to be one of us, isn't it?"

Percy's jaw is set. His face is bloody and scraped, his hair dirt-caked. The hand that isn't resting on my shoulder is clenched tightly in a fist. His eyes aren't emerald, as usual. They're a shade of green that's impossible to explain. I know that the next thing that comes out of his mouth, I won't like.

"No," he says firmly. "It's going to be me."

"What?" I cry. "No, Percy. I'm not leaving you." I turn around and instinctively reach for my knife, ready to fight him if he makes a run for the Doors.

Percy shakes his head, stony-faced. "Can't you see, Annabeth? They're all new heroes, even Jason. They haven't seen or experienced what I have. They don't know what it's like down there, what they're up against. They'd go mad. We're the only ones who could survive, even for a little while. And there's no way I'm letting you go. So the only other option is me."

"No, Percy," I say stubbornly. "There's no way I'm letting _you _go. There has to be another way."

Percy stares at me, his eyes hard. "No, Annabeth. There isn't another way. I'm our only chance."

His words cut straight into my heart. He's right. "Don't leave me," I whisper, tears forming in my eyes, threatening to spill over. "Please."

That seems to be the final straw for Percy. He grabs me, one arm wrapped tightly around my waist, the other tangled in my curls. His lips collide with mine, gentle at first, then moving more urgently. I know he's pouring everything he has into this kiss, this _last_ kiss, and I want to do the same, but I can't. I don't want to accept the fact that this is the last time. The last time his body presses into mine. The last time my fingers run through his silky hair. The last time I feel his heart beating in sync with mine. The last time I'll feel his body heat, feel comforted with the fact that he's alive.

But in the end, I give in. I press my lips forcefully against his, pouring everything into this kiss. Tears begin to fall; fat, uncontrollable tears that I haven't let fall since Percy went missing. My body shakes with sobs, but Percy still doesn't let go. He just holds me tighter. My fingers find the small of his back. Even though he's lost the curse of Achilles, this certain spot still "feels like a thousand volts of electricity is shooting through me when you touch it" as Percy puts it. I keep my fingers there, hoping that the effect will last long after the Doors have closed. I keep them there because I hope that the ghost of my fingers will still stay there while Percy's fighting for his life in the eternal darkness.

Finally, we pull away enough to catch our breath. I'm still crying, and Percy still holds me. I press my forehead against his, to where I'm staring straight into his eyes, and whisper, "Defeat Gaea while you're down there. For me."

Percy smiles sadly, and I see that he's crying also. "I will," he whispers back. "I promise."

At the words "I promise", I collapse into Percy chest, my body shaking with sobs. Percy strokes my hair and continuously kisses my head, letting me cry.

"_An oath to keep with a final breath_," I whisper.

"Oh, Annabeth," Percy says, then breaks down into tears with me.

We cry until there are no tears left. The other five still pay no attention to us, still arguing over who's staying behind. A small part of my brain wonders why no monsters have attacked us yet. Wouldn't they notice that their final defense has been beaten and come after us? Maybe it's a blessing from the gods. Peace from the war so we can say our final good-byes.

Percy kisses me one last time. "I love you, Annabeth," he says against my lips. "I've never loved anyone more. You made me realize who I am and stood by me no matter what. I'll be waiting for you in Elysium."

I don't trust myself to say anything. I just nod and stare at him, hoping he'll understand.

He does. He always does.

He brushes a loose curl behind my ear. "Just hold on, Wise Girl, okay? It won't be easy, but hold on. You're stronger than anyone I've ever met. If anyone can get through this, you can. I love you, Wise Girl. Even in death, I'll love you forever and ever."

I know he wants to hear those three words from me too. Three words for him to hold on to. So I force them out, my voice barely audible. "I love you too, Seaweed Brain. Always have. Always will."

The rest is a blur. One last kiss. Percy walking down the pathway of amethyst columns, head held high. Gaea's voice, cackling that she's been waiting. Percy pulling out Riptide and dragging it across his forearm, the blood falling onto the ancient stones. Me screaming. The other five turning their heads and gasping, finally realizing what's been going on around them. Gaea's half risen body. And finally, Percy calling down the power of the gods and driving his sword through Gaea.

Piper grabs my arm and drags me over to the Doors. Percy's already on the other side, on a ledge big enough for one person to stand on. The six of us stand facing him on the mortal side. Although we're only two feet away, I feel like we're miles away again, searching in vain for each other. But this time, I know that I won't ever find him again.

"Ready, set, push!" Jason cries. We all push with all of our strength. The grinding sound of doors being closed echoes in my ears. Percy pushes too, from the other side. I can hear him grunting.

We push enough for the Doors to close on their own. We all step back, watching and listening to the screaming spirits as their last chance at freedom disappears in front of them.

I watch as my last chance at happiness-a boy with black hair and green eyes-slowly disappears from my view. But right before he leaves me entirely, I hear him yell at me two words: _hold on_.

Then he's gone. Forever.

Something strange happens. Once those doors slam shut, every monster dissolves to dust. A rushing wind sweeps through the valley, scattering all of the monster dust to where they can't reform again. The demigods still alive all drop their weapons in confusion, and relief. Slowly, one-by-one, their heads turn upwards towards us. Towards me.

I'm their leader now.

Percy told me that I was strong. That I could get through this. His last words to me were "hold on". But right now, overwhelmed with grief, I do the exact opposite. I collapse to the ground and sob.

OoOoOoOoOoOoO

My eyes shoot open. I'm too weak and hungry to cry out. I lie still, the images from the dream-dying demigods, fear-filled faces, the demonic eyes of monsters, and worst of all, Percy, walking back into Tartarus, his last kiss that he gave me-still swirling in my head. I'm breathing hard and heavily, and that's probably what makes Percy wake up.

"Annabeth?" he asks cautiously. I look over and find that he has Riptide pulled out, ready to jump into battle at any moment. I wish I could be like that, ready to fight for my life at anytime. But I'm not.

Tartarus took a big toll on me. I can barely walk now, and my gnawing stomach pleads loudly for food. My parched throat is so dry, I can barely speak. My words come out in a whisper. I shake constantly, and whenever I lie down, I'm afraid I may never get back up.

But it's not this way for Percy. He's as tired and hungry as I am, but his adrenaline hasn't run out. He helps me walk when I stumble, gives me part of his ambrosia square (Which we get once every three days), and when my eyes begin to droop as we trudge along, kisses me to wake me up.

I hate being weak. I hate having to have help walking. I hate what Tartarus has done to me. But I can't help it. My adrenaline has run out. My energy has run out. My ankle has held out as long as it can. I'm a walking corpse.

"Percy," I cry, but it only comes out as a whisper.

He picks me up and holds me. He knows how much I hate this, and does his best to make me feel like I'm an ally, not a burden. It doesn't work.

"What was it about?" he asks quietly.

I do my best to tell him, but it's hard. The dream was vivid, so real, that I have trouble getting it out. "It was the final battle. All of us, the Seven, were fighting through Gaea's forces, until we came to the open Doors."

Percy nods, encouaging me to continue. So I do.

"Hazel, Piper, Leo, Jason, and Frank were arguing about who was going to stay. I was trying to figure out what to do when you came up behind me and told me-and told me that you were gonna-" I falter, trying to hold back my tears.

"That I was going to stay?" Percy asks, tilting his head to the side and peering at me through his long lashes.

I nod.

"Did I?"

I nod again.

Percy pulls me to his chest. I'm so tiny and frail, that my figure is almost invisible in his arms, bulky from muscle. I try not to think about how this was the way he held me in my dream, when he gave me that last kiss. I try not to think about how we could be in this very same position in just a few days, right in front of the Doors of Death.

I don't cry. It seems that my tear ducts are empty. And frankly, I'm glad that I can't cry. It's bad enough that I can't even walk. I don't know what I'd do if I cried my eyes out right now.

"You know that it was just a nightmare, right?" Percy whispers in my ear. "Nothing else?"

"I know," I say. "But demigod dreams are different. Sometimes, they are real. What if-what if you really-"

"Don't you dare say what you're thinking, Annabeth Chase," Percy orders. I close my mouth and glare at the ground, my chapped lips set in a firm line.

"Annabeth, sometimes there are times in life where we're lost. Where we don't know what to do. You feel like you're drowning and there's no hand to pull you back up to air. But you have to hold on. You have to fight against the waves that threaten to push you down. Hold on to that hope, tht light at the end of the tunnel."

His words "hold on" are so eerily close to what he told me in my dream, that I start shaking. "But sometimes," I say, my voice small and shaky, "you just lose it."

"But not you, Wise Girl," Percy whispers in my ear. "Not you. When I first met you, you were strong. You lived life like nothing could knock you down. Like everything that you'd been through didn't affect you. One little nightmre about me dying would have never bothered you. And I know that you're still that strong girl."

"My strength is an illusion," I murmur, my voice inaudible. "It always was."

Percy leans down and kisses my left shoulder. He keeps his lips there for a few seconds, letting me close my eyes and feel it, interpret it. Even when he leans back, the ghost of his lips are still there, locked on that small scar, that one imperfection on my tan skin.

"You are strong," Percy whispers, his lips now less than a centimeter away from my ear. "Do not try to tell me otherwise, because I'll never believe it. You saved my life. Someone who claims that their strength is an illusion wouldn't have the courage to do that."

"Maybe," I whisper back, "but one knife in the Titan War doesn't change the fact that I'm on the verge of death and terrified to even sit down, for fear that I won't get back up. I'm sure that someone with strength doesn't have that problem."

"Strength isn't about being strong all the time. It's about falling down seven times and standing up eight. It's about holding on when everything in the world is pushing against you."*

I sigh. Does he really believe that I'm strong? If anyone looked at me right now and saw my pale face, empty eyes, heard my pleading stomach, felt the coldness that seeped through my skin long ago, they woukd not see a hero. But really, if what Percy's saying is true, than it's not about looks and how long I can stay standing. It's about being able to stand up after I've fallen, no matter how hurt I am. And, I guess, after a week and a half down here and not having died yet, I'm indirectly doing so.

"You're right," is all I say.

"Of course I am," Percy answers. "When am I not?"

"About 99.9% of the time," I joke. Percy laughs, obviously happy that I'm back to normal.

I lean back into his chest, listening to the sound of his heartbeat as I trace swirls on his hand. I've found myself doing this everytime we stop to rest down here. There's a comfort that comes to you in knowing that you're not the only living being down here. That you have a person to push you along, encourage you, comfort you. Just someone to be with you. And I'm especially glad that it's Percy.

Percy kisses my shoulder again. That's his way of knowing that I'm here and have his back. That I've protected him once before and I can do it again. That I'm _here._

_But soon, _I think, _we're going to have more scars as reminders. _The thought makes me shiver.

"Hey," Percy whispers, tightening his arms around my frail, trembling body, "don't worry. We'll make it out alive. We always have. And you know what? Once we get out, I'm gonna take you to a nice dinner at Burger King-"

I roll my eyes and snort at that.

"-and then we'll come back to my apartment and make fun of cheesy chick-flicks. How does that sound?"

To be honest, it sounds good. Not because of the dinner or the movies, but because I'd be with Percy, safe and unharmed.

Percy continues talking while I curl up against his chest, listening to his heartbeat and the way his voice seems to thrum through his entire body. I close my eyes, letting myself take down that mask of bravery that I usually wear and becoming a small, frightened girl again. Before I know it, I'm sound asleep on top of Percy.

But the real miracle is when I wake up. Because, for the first time since Percy and I fell asleep in the stables on the Argo ll, I slept without any nightmares.

**What'd you think? Did it come from heaven? Should I be burned at stake? Leave it in a review!**

**"What's more, I am with you and will protect you wherever you go. One day I will bring you back to this land. I will not leave you untilI have finished giving you everything I have promised you." Genesis 28:15**


	15. Cry With You

**Heyyyy! I am so proud of myself! I updated, like, less than a month before my last update! Aren't you proud of me?**

**Yeah, so, this is a one-shot from the last book. Um, in this one, Percy and Annabeth never fell into Tartarus. So they're still with the rest of the Seven. **

**And this chapter is inspired by the god, Hunter Hayes, and his song Cry With You, which is the greatest song ever.**

**Disclaimer: All rights go to Rick Riordan.**

Cry With You

Percy's POV

_When you try not to look at me, scared that I'll see you hurting, well, you're not hiding anything. And frankly it's got me worried. Nobody knows you better than I do. I keep my promises, I'm fighting for you. You're not alone, I'll listen 'til your tears give out. You're safe and sound. I swear that I won't let you down. What's hurting you, I feel it too. I mean it when I say when you cry, I'll cry with you._

_-"Cry With You" by Hunter Hayes_

OoOoOoOoOoOoO

Annabeth, Percy thought as he stabbed a dracaenae.

Annabeth, he thought as he skewered the manticore.

Annabeth, he thought as he scanned the battle field.

Percy had never felt so bloodthirsty. He could feel his blood boiling in his veins, boiling with anger. It felt like his usual green eyes were glowing red. Percy knew that he was probably scaring the rest of the Seven, but he didn't care. Gaea's army had hurt Annabeth, and he was going to get revenge.

The Giant War was fought in battles. The gods' side had to have fought at least ten by now. They've lost eight. During the last battle, Annabeth has fought the Minotaur. She had almost won, but she jumped a second to late and the Minotaur had cut her left leg open. She had almost bled to death, but Percy found her and defeated the Minotaur, then brought Annabeth back to their ship, the Argo ll.

Now, Percy was determined to find the Minotaur and get revenge for Annabeth. Everytime he got tired out, he would think of Annabeth, smiling tiredly at him as he went off to fight. That reenergized him and he would begin fighting viciously again.

Percy's main goal had been to protect Annabeth. No one else knew that, not even Annabeth herself. No one knew the real reason he was beating himself up, the real reason he couldn't sleep at night, the real reason he spent every waking second in Annabeth's room with her. They all thought it was because he was worried and scared for her. And they weren't entirely wrong. He was worried.

But he did all those things to make up for letting her down. It was his fault that she was hurt. If he hadn't left her side, he could've protected her, he could've helped her. Although Annabeth seemed like the type of person who's independent, who doesn't need anyone, she really wasn't. She did need people, people who she could trust and in return, they could trust her. No matter how much she tried to hide it, she couldn't hide it from Percy. Percy knew that she needed him, now more than ever. And he didn't want to let her down again.

_Come on out, Old Beefhead, _Percy thought. _Or are you too scared?_

Finally, he saw him. The Minotaur was battling Jason and Leo, and by the looks of it, the demigods were losing. Percy began sprinting to help.

"Jason!" Percy yelled. The son of the sky god turned his head to look at Percy.

"Thank the gods!" he cried. "Come and help us!"

Percy shook his head. "No! I can get this one alone."

Jason stopped fighting for a second and looked at Percy. An understanding passed between the two demigods. Jason nodded and he and Leo backed down.

"Hey, Beef Boy!" he yelled at the bull-man. "Remember me?"

The Minotaur grunted in response.

Percy looked at the Minotaur's ax. It still had flecks of blood on it. Annabeth's blood. Percy looked back at the monster, a whole new anger growing inside of him. It was enough to picture Annabeth hurt and nearly lifeless, but to see her blood on the thing that made her that way made Percy furious.

"Well, since you nearly _killed_ my girlfriend," Percy said indignantly, "it's my job to kill you."

The Minotaur roared in anger and threw his ax in Percy's direction. Percy jumped out of the way. He pulled out his sword. The fight was on.

OoOoOoOoOoOoO

Percy laughed as the Minotaur stared down at the sword penetrating his chest. "That one was for Annabeth," he told him, as the Minotaur slowly crumbled away. The pieces of the disintegrated Minotaur blew against Percy with the wind. Usually, it grossed him out, but right then, it felt good.

With their leader killed, the rest of the monster army realized that the demigods had won, and quickly withdrew. Jason and the other four quickly ran over to him. "How'd you beat him so quickly?" Jason asked, dumbfounded. "You only battled him for five minutes!"

Percy gave him a look.

"Oh," Jason murmured. "Sorry, dude."

"We need to head back to the Argo ll," Piper said, "before Gaea sends another army after us."

Percy looked around at the battlefield. By then, the monsters had evacuated the site, leaving only dead bodies and six of the demigods from the Great Prophecy. The wind swept unforgivingly through the valley where the battle had been fought, whistling and reminding Percy of the demigods that had died for their cause. And the deaths of demigods reminded him of his girlfriend, who was lying in bed in immense pain right at that moment.

"Yeah," he agreed. "Let's go."

OoOoOoOoOoOoO

Percy's steps echoed off the walls of the lower level hallway of the Argo ll. It felt like he couldn't get there fast enough. The not knowing how Annabeth was doing during the day-long battle had nearly killed him. Now, he was going to find out.

Halfway down the hallway, Percy ran into Will Solace, Camp Half-Blood's lead healer from Apollo's cabin. The demigods from camp had come to help with the war a couple weeks ago when the war started. Percy was grateful that the Apollo campers had come more than the other cabins. They helped heal even when they were ready to drop dead from exhaustion.

"Hey," Will said.

"How's Annabeth?" Percy asked.

Will's smile faded, making Percy's stomach drop. "She's fine now," he said. "More worried about you than anything else."

Percy nodded. "Thanks. I'm heading over there now."

He continued towards Annabeth's room, slipping by Will, but he grabbed his arm. "Percy," Will said, his face serious, "just, be prepared for any outcome, okay?"

The look in Will's eyes gave Percy an uneasy feeling, but he nodded and Will let go.

"See you later, Perce," he said, walking away. "Got to go heal more people."

Percy waved and continued down the hallway, his pace a little quicker than before. Something in Will's words was off and it made Percy more anxious than ever to see Annabeth.

Arriving at her door, Percy knocked on it. Then realizing that Annabeth could be asleep, Percy opened the door to her room. "Annabeth?" he asked cautiously. "You okay?"

"Percy?" came a weak voice from inside the room. "Is that you?"

"Yeah." Percy opened the door and walked into the small room. It was full of everything an Athena kid could ever want. On the right wall was a big bookshelf full of books over Roman government, every famous demigod that had ever lived, Greek civilization. There were also books over non-Greek/Roman things: U.S. civics, deathly epidemics, ancient unsolved mysteries. And Annabeth had added her own assortment of books over architecture on the shelf. Those were the ones that were worn down and falling apart.

Against the far wall was a desk, covered in blueprints and maps. Annabeth's Daedalus laptop sat, still running, on the edge. And on the left wall was a large, queen-sized bed, complete with large, plump pillows and fuzzy blankets. Sitting in the bed, bleary-eyed and pale-faced, was none other than Annabeth Chase.

She was laying in the bed, surrounded by pillows. Her injured leg was just a large bundle underneath the mounds of blankets on her bed. Percy could see her shivering underneath them. Her blonde curls, limp and flimsy, were strewn out on the pillows. Her lips were chapped. But her eyes scared Percy the most. They were almost always either bright or stormy. Now, they were just empty and lifeless.

"Percy," Annabeth murmured, "did we win?"

Percy nodded and walked over to the bed. "Yeah. We did."

Annabeth's lips turned up in a ghost of a grin. "Finally," she said.

Percy smiled and sat down, careful to not hit her hurt leg. "So how are you?" he asked.

Annabeth shrugged. "Tired. Exhausted. Exasperated. Enervated."

Percy put up his hands in a sign of surrender. "Please stop with the big words."

A sound escaped Annabeth's mouth that he assumed was a laugh. "I'm just tired."

Percy began to get up. "Should I go?"

"No," Annabeth said, shaking her head. "Please stay."

Percy looked at Annabeth and saw what she really meant. She was tired of being alone, stuck here in this little room. He crawled over towards her and layed down next to her. Annabeth sighed as she nestled up next to him. Her curls tickled his cheeks and he picked one up to play with.

This was a position they'd been in countless times. But now, it felt more intimate, more heartfelt. They had been through nearly everything together, and now it all may come to an end.

"Percy," Annabeth whispered, "Will told me today that my leg is more serious than he thought."

Percy's heart began doing jumping-jacks. "How bad?" he asked carefully.

Annabeth gulped. "Fatal."

There was a silence. This couldn't be happening. Not to them. Percy had hoped that after the war, they would be left alone. They could get married one day and have a few kids. No more monsters, no more wars, no more prophecies. He had actually believed it too. He really thought everything would work out.

"Annabeth..." Percy muttered, holding her close.

"He said I had lost too much blood," Annabeth continued in a shaky voice. "No amount of ambrosia or nectar could fix it." A tear ran down her face. Percy flipped on his side and wiped it away.

This was too much. She couldn't be dying. Not after they had just gotten each other back. It didn't seem fair.

"Hey," Percy comforted. "It'll be okay. Just wait and s-"

"No!" Annabeth cried. She tried to sit up, but immediately stopped and cried out. Percy looked down to see that her leg had twisted while she was getting up. He sat up and wrapped an arm around her waist and one behind her back, steadying her.

"Hey, hey," Percy calmed. "Stop it."

More tears were falling. "I hate this," Annabeth murmured. "I hate all of this. The fighting. The pain. Not being able to do things myself."

Percy pulled her towards him and held her bridal style in his lap. He was aware of her injured leg, lying limp to the side, and made sure that he didn't do anything to hurt it. Annabeth rested her head against his chest and took a deep breath. Percy could feel her body trembling in his arms.

"It'll be okay, Wise Girl," he comforted. He tried to make his voice sound cool and comforting, but he could hear the fear in it and he knew Annabeth could also.

"Stop it, Percy," Annabeth demanded. "Stop trying to comfort me. I don't need comfort."

"Annabeth, you stop," Percy shot back. "You don't need to be independent all the time. You sometimes need to le-"

"Percy, I know what I need," Annabeth said bitterly. "I don't need you to tell me."

Percy was silent. He was just trying to help.

"I'm sorry," Annabeth whispered. "I really am. I just..." Annabeth paused. Percy felt her body begin shaking again, and knew that she was crying.

"Hey," he said quietly. "Hey, it's okay." He kissed the top of her head and brushed her hair with his fingers.

Annabeth took a deep breath and played with her fingers as she said, "I'm tired of being so helpless, Percy. I have a couple of weeks to live, according to Will. Two weeks! There's so much I haven't done, so much I've missed out on. Will told me that I've lived longer than most demigods do, but to me, it seems so short. I haven't lived long enough for myself. I haven't done things for myself more than I have for other people."

"What do you mean?" Percy asked, knowing full well what she meant, but knowing she wanted to say it anyway.

"Sometimes, it just feels like my whole life has been spent helping other people and other things," Annabeth explained, her voice quiet. "I haven't done anything to help myself. Like, when you went missing, all I wanted to do was go and drive down to San Francisco myself and search every nook and cranny of that city to find you. But I didn't. I had to stay and lead the camp."

"But it all turned out okay in the end, right?" Percy added, hoping to cheer her up.

Annabeth shook her head, her curls tickling Percy's chin. "You don't understand. I didn't _know_ if it was all going to work out in the end. I thought that it was all a hopeless cause, all of the building and preparing. I sat at camp for six months doing nothing but being strong for other people. Six months of having to hide constant worrying so that others don't get scared."

Percy hated this. Annabeth was usually so strong, so independent. That's one of the million things he loved about her. But now, when she was trembling in his arms, he didn't know what to do. He wanted to say that everything would work out in the end, but that'd be lying. He didn't know what was going to happen and, honestly, he wasn't up to the task of comforting her when he needed comfort himself.

And Annabeth's story about how she didn't do very much for herself made Percy's heart ache. She hadn't wanted very much in life; just something permanent, something to stay by her when everything else leaves. Something-or rather _someone_-to protect her and comfort her. Percy wanted to be that person for her more than anything he had ever wanted, and it hurt to have failed her. It hurt him more than anything to have not made her feel loved and given her opportunities to be selfish. But most of all, he regretted not being there for six months of her life and making her feel obligated to be strong.

"I'm sorry, Annabeth," Percy whispered, putting a cheek on top of her head. "I'm sorry for not being there. I'm sorry for going missing and leaving you to worrying and missing me. I'm sorry for not being the boyfriend that you akways wanted. I'm sorry for not providing for you more and not being that permanent person that you always wan-"

Annabeth's laughter cut Percy off. He looked down at the blonde, who was trembling in his arms, but not from tears, but from laughing. "What?" he demanded.

Annabeth slowly and carefully climbed off of his lap and turned to face him. "Percy," she said once she calmed down, "why are you apologizing? You are that permanent person that I've always wanted. It doesn't matter that you went missing for six months. You still remembered me out of everybody you knew. No other person who I've ever met would've remembered me. That proves that you'll always be there for me. So please stop beating yourself up."

Percy leaned down and kissed her-a sweet, lingering kiss that neither of them wanted to pull away from.

Annabeth's sob broke them apart. She gripped Percy's arms so tightly that her knuckles turned white, but Percy didn't care. "What's wrong?" he demanded, wrapping his arms around her waist. "What's the matter?"

"I-I'm gonna die, Percy," she whispered. "I'm gonna be gone in two weeks. This isn't how I wanted my life to end."

She layed down on the bed ad curled up as much as she could with her hurt leg. Percy layed down next to her. He wanted to say something, but didn't know what. He felt like the best he could do for her this time was to just be there.

So he did the one thing he felt like doing. He curled up next to Annabeth and began to cry with her.

**You know, I've been writing really depressing stuff lately. I promise that I'm not going through depression! I swear on the River Styx! But what'd you think? Bad? Good? Please review!**

**Speaking of reviews, please, if you follow my story Intertwined, PLEASE REVIEW! I updated after, like, ages, and got two reviews. I'm not very happy. **

**And go and read owlsrock54321's stories! They're both really good! **

**One more thing. I think I should continue this and make it a two-shot. So that you can find out what happens to Annabeth and stuff. I don't know. I was playing around with that idea while writing this. **

**Bye! Review!**

**"Love each other with genuine affection, and take delight in honoring each other." Romans 12:10**


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